Conservation

Nashville Zoo is tons of fun and a great place to see fascinating animals…but there is also a lot of serious conservation work happening here.

Our experienced staff is actively involved in research, habitat protection, breeding programs and education initiatives around the globe as well as in our own backyard.

Donate to Conservation

Explore our conservation efforts:

Highlighted Conservation Projects

Recent Conservation News

Financial Contributions to Conservation

Species Survival Plans

Green Team

Clouded Leopard

At Nashville Zoo more than 32 cubs have been born since 2009. All of our clouded leopard cubs are raised by hand. This technique prevents parental predation, enables cubs to be paired at early ages and allows this normally nervous species to become acclimated to the sights and sounds of human interaction typical in an exhibit environment. Read more

Giant Anteater

Eighteen giant anteaters have been born at Nashville Zoo since 2001. The Zoo is recognized as a leader in caring for captive giant anteaters, as well as tamanduas (lesser anteater), and its reproductive success with the breeding of giant anteaters. The Zoo’s animal care and veterinary staff are currently working on an anteater care manual in conjunction with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Program. Read more

Hellbender

Nashville Zoo is proud to be the first organization in the world to breed one of the largest salamanders in the world, Eastern hellbenders, and the first to breed hellbenders using biotechnology. The Zoo’s captive breeding program is now an international collaboration working to save this giant amphibian from extinction. Read more

Loggerhead Shrike

The loggerhead shrike, along with many other grassland bird species, is in steep decline and could decline by half in the next 25 years without significant action. The Nashville Zoo is a participating member of the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Working Group and has been surveying and monitoring loggerhead shrikes in Middle Tennessee since 2013. Read more

Puerto Rican Crested Toad

Thought to be extinct, the Puerto Rican Crested Toad was rediscovered in the 1960’s. Since then, only a single population has been found to exist in the Guanica State Forest. In collaboration with other AZA accredited zoos and US and Puerto Rican wildlife agencies, Nashville Zoo is successfully breeding thousands of Puerto Rican Crested Toads and releasing them into protected areas of their native land. Read more

Rhinoceros Hornbill

The Nashville Zoo is a proud participant in the Rhinoceros Hornbill Species Survival Plan (SSP) and over the last decade has become the most prolific producer of rhinoceros hornbills in the United States with more than 18% of the hornbills in the SSP being hatched from the Nashville Zoo. Read more.