As blospz mentioned on the Knoxville thread, the trio of Sumatran tiger sisters has arrived! Here’s a cool video detailing the process:
Where did the Masai Giraffe Calf, Mazi, get relocated to? I know there are only three giraffes left at the Zoo.
The Unseen New World at the Nashville Zoo "Be sure you're watching closely" It's an Aquarium, a Reptile House, an Insectarium, and an Aviary all in one - this is the Unseen New World: Creatures of the Americas! Built in 1998, this is one of the most diverse collections of small, tropical creatures you'll ever find. It's designed to throw away your expectations - jellyfish are next to spiders, seahorses are next to lizards - you truly don't know what you'll see next. The Unseen New World is composed of small distinguished animals set in world class displays - and it doesn't comes without a purpose. If your eyes focus away from the animals, you'll see the attraction's message that is sure to inspire. The building encourages you to think of the world's small wonders in a new way. There is no higher or lower value. That Earth's most famous creatures aren't always more important than the lesser known. Next time you're walking through nature, take a moment to search around for the Overlooked, the Ignored, the Misunderstood, the Unseen. Your journey to see animals in a whole new light begins with here, in the Unseen New World at the Nashville Zoo. P.S., to all those that have, Thank You for 450 Subscribers
@Moebelle , thanks for the tour! This building was closed down the first part of the day on my trip so I was only able to do a quick walk through later on.
Does this zoo still plan to reopen an African Elephant exhibit? I can no longer find that on the website or on any expansion plans.
If they did, it would be a brand new exhibit and barn using part of their currently unused land. In my opinion though, I doubt this will happen any time soon or at all. The former elephant exhibit is really a great exhibit for their four female white rhinos. They hope to get a male rhino for breeding in the near future.
From zoo's Facebook feed just now: " Nashville Zoo staff are mourning the loss of Holt, a 4-year-old Andean bear, who died early this morning after a series of massive seizures. “We are devastated at the sudden loss of Holt,” said Nashville Zoo President and CEO Rick Schwartz. “He was a very charismatic animal and a great ambassador for his species and the Zoo. His absence will have a profound and lasting effect on all of us here at the Zoo.” Nashville Zoo’s veterinary staff were called to the off-exhibit Andean bear holding at about 3:00 p.m. yesterday after a keeper witnessed Holt beginning a series of full-body seizures. Within minutes, the veterinary team arrived to administer anti-seizure medication with no effect. For the next 12 hours, the veterinary team made continual attempts to stop the episode with no improvements, and preliminary diagnostics revealed no answers. At 3:00 a.m. this morning, Nashville Zoo’s animal care officials made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize the bear. “Holt had no history of seizures,” said Dr. Heather Robertson, Nashville Zoo Director of Veterinary Services. “He was considered to be a perfectly healthy bear.” The Zoo’s veterinary team will perform a necropsy and histopathology to try and determine the cause of the seizures. Holt came to Nashville Zoo in May 2016 from Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Anyone wishing to honor Holt is encouraged to make a contribution to Andean bear conservation through the Wildlife Conservation Network: https://wildnet.org/wildlife-programs/spectacled-bear/"
The zoo just hatched another Central American giant galliwasp. Nashville Zoo Successfully Breeds Rare Species
A Palawan binturong cub was born on January 18th; however, the cub will be moving to its new home at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium sometime this week.
Does anyone know what species are in the zoo's amphitheater shows? Anything of interest for a zoo nerd? ~Thylo
The zoo's new veterinary center opens this week. Nashville Zoo opening new, state-of-the-art veterinary center
I visited this zoo for the first time yesterday and I have to say I was very impressed. I couldn't find a single enclosure in that zoo that wasn't at least very good, with most being fantastic. I think if the zoo continues to expand with its current quality, and works to put more of its many off-show species on-exhibit, it will definitely be a major contender for the best zoo in the country. By far my favorite exhibit was Unseen New World, which focuses on North and South America. It's a fantastic house with superb exhibitry throughout and a fantastic species list. There were some really cool mixed displays as well such as Axolotl/Mexican Alligator Lizard and Hellbender/water snake. I'd love to see the zoo build similar houses but for Africa and Asia one day. The only major complaints I can give is that the zoo's fish signage is very, very poor despite having various aquaria displays, and the zoo's flow is very broken up. There really isn't all that much to the zoo at the moment and I counted four separate dead end paths, all of which are at the top of the hill. I really didn't enjoy hiking up the hill to find that I need to turn around the go back down to do the exact same thing again 10 minutes down the path. It's especially bizarre to me that the zoo's African exhibit does this twice, especially when there is a path that connects the two areas but it's keepers only. Aside from that I'd say it's also a little annoying that the zoo leads the country in breeding programs for Clouded Leopard, Giant Anteater, and Great Blue Turaco and is the only breeder of Palawan Binturong, Banded Civet, and Central American Galliwasp yet only the first of all of those species is exhibited. Regardless, though, it's a great zoo with a great collection and I look forward to seeing how it expands as time goes on. ~Thylo
