Overview

On the 4th of July weekend 2022 I visited Nashville Zoo. It’s always fun visiting a new zoo and seeing what they have to offer. It is a smaller zoo, but since my visit was on the same day as the Grand Ole Opry tour I was able to see everything that I wanted to see and explore. Make sure you download the Nashville Zoo app and start exploring before you even get there.

Getting There

If you are zoo member parking is free, but if you are not a zoo member parking is $10. March to October hours are from 9:00am-6:00pm and October to March 9:00am-4:00pm. Tickets are between $23-$27. Kids between ages 2-14 are $4 less than regular admission and all kids under 2 are free. I love being able to apply my AZA membership to get 50% off admission. Whether I’m buying tickets online or in person there is always an option to apply AZA membership.

Noteworthy Animals

One animal from the Nashville Zoo that I still talk about today is there Andean Bear from South America. This is a different kind of bear than just your regular black bear. They have different facial features and a slightly smaller size. This bear was active in ways I have never seen before. This Andean Bear had a ball that had something inside that he wanted to get out. He grabbed and chased this ball to the point of jumping in the water and swimming with it. I could have sat at that exhibit my whole trip. The only other zoo that I know of that has an Andean Bear too is the San Deigo Zoo.

I was surprised to see that they have White Cheek Gibbons. For those that don’t know Gibbon’s love to be loud and vocal. Since Nashville is a smaller zoo, it didn’t matter where I was, I could hear the gibbons clearly. The Wildwood Wildlife Zoo in Minocqua, WI is the only other zoo that has gibbons, so it was nice for me to see them somewhere else.

Experiences

To my surprise when we first got there, they were doing a Flamingo Walk. As much as I have seen flamingos I don’t think I have seen them walk. It was unexpected, but that’s what I love about it. I can’t remember specific details, but I got there close to opening and saw them first thing. Next, I would recommend making your way over to the Kangaroos Kickout. You are allowed to go into the exhibit, but you must stay on the walking path and pet the kangaroos that are with Zookeepers. Do not pet any kangaroos that are off the walking path. Finally, one of my favorite experiences was their summer zoo lights. All their lights were synchronized to music and they were beautiful. Make plans when the sun goes down to still enjoy a different kind of zoo trip. These are not Christmas lights, but they are great and worth exploring.

Facilities

Being the 4^th of July weekend and the middle of summer, I stopped by the Fat Cow Creamery to enjoy delicious ice cream. It was perfect for the zoo night lights. They also serve coffee, hot chocolate, and other treats to enjoy your zoo day. The next time I go back I want to try to the Screaming Gibbons Pizza Kitchen. The Gilbert’s love pizza and if we had more time we would have tried it.

Overall Impression

I still to this day talk about the Andean Bear. It was the highlight of my trip. Nashville and the zoo were a graduation gift to me and I loved every minute of it. If you go during the summertime, make sure you have plenty of water.