The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere is a couple of miles from my home, and one of my favorite places to go for a walk or to play with my camera.  I usually keep an annual membership so I can do that without paying an arm and a leg for a short walk.

I haven't been to many other zoos so I don't have anything to compare our zoo to, but in my opinion it is a quite nice mid-sized zoo.  I'm sure it's not in a league with some of the larger zoos, but they do have a number of exhibits and it is always well-maintained and clean.  The animals always appear healthy, well fed, and well cared for. 

I've tried to photograph most of the animals at the zoo.  As with most zoos the animal exhibits do change from time to time.  I sometimes visit the zoo and realize that an area is occupied by a different exhibit.  So if you visit our zoo in hopes of seeing a specific exhibit it might be worth verifying that the aminals are still there.

Nashville Zoo - Various Dates

Nashville Zoo - September 10, 2011

A nice cool morning for a change!  We caught the tail end of Hurricane Lee last weekend and it brought with it some deliciously cool weather.  A week ago Friday we set a record high of 99°, and then on the following Sunday our temperature topped out at 58°.  It's warmed up gradually during the week but this morning was still in the low 70's while I was walking around the zoo.

Nashville Zoo - August 13, 2011

Just a few today because I didn't stay too long.  I just wanted to get out and walk for a bit and this seemed a good place to do that.

The photos below were shot through glass, for obvious reasons, so that accounts for some of the loss of sharpness.  They were also shot using an off-camera flash.  It's kind of ironic that most animals are startled by a camera flash but for some reason most fish seem to be attracted by it.  They don't flip their fins and run away they tend to come closer to see what's going on.

Nashville Zoo - July 31, 2011

It was already hot and humid when I visited the Nashville Zoo about 9:30 this morning but I really wanted to see how much the Clouded Leopard Cubs had grown in the past month.  I knew going through the gate that I wasn't going to stay very long, but that's one of the advantages of being a member and not having to pay admission each time I go.  I can go by for a few minutes and not feel guilty about paying an admission fee plus a parking fee (a new "Feature" this year!).

First I had to stop by and visit the riotous Hyacinth Macaws, the Meerkats, and Ming and Mei the adult Clouded Leopards.

The Clouded Leopard cubs are in an area that is really difficult to photograph.  Their area has a fine mesh fence all around it as well as clear plexiglass on one side in addition to being heavily shaded by trees all around.  Eliminating the fence isn't all that hard but it does cause a slight loss of sharpness.  A slight gray haze is visible in the photographs where the wire of the fence crossed.

Nashville Zoo - Several Visits - January through June, 2011

We had some nasty thunderstorms come through the area this morning which killed my idea of riding my motorcycle.  Once it quits raining around here it’s like a sauna which makes wearing riding gear quite unappealing.  I decided I’d go to the zoo for a little while because there are a couple of new guys there I wanted to see.

And here is one of the guys I went to see.  This is one of a pair of Clouded Leopard cubs.  They are only a month or two old, I think.  One of the docents said that they are still being bottle-fed so they are quite young.

There are two of them and they behave just like house cats at this point.  They were chasing each other around, pouncing on anything that moved (limbs moving in the breeze seemed to be a favorite), and just plain enjoying life.

I attended a “Photo Safari” at the Nashville Zoo this morning.  The name of the event was a bit misleading since we didn’t go anywhere except the amphitheater but it was still quite interesting.  The host brought out five of the zoo’s education animals, those that aren’t normally on display in the zoo, and we got to take photographs of them.

This little guy was first up.  He’s a Pygmy Screech Owl.  There are a couple of additional photos of him below since I’ve run across him once before.  His keeper had him out one morning last February while I was walking through the zoo and I saw him then.

Next up was Charlie.  Charlie is a Prehensile Tailed Porcupine from Australia.  At least I was told he is from Australia, I didn’t catch his accent.

Charlie is an interesting creature, and quite friendly, at least toward his handler.  We weren’t allowed to handle him since those quills are actually hard and bony feeling (the handler passed some of them around and they feel a lot like finger nail material).  If you rub him the wrong way, so to speak, you get a perforated hand.  His handler was wearing heavy leather gloves and one went right through it.

Then we saw Vincent.  Vincent is a Blue Tongued Skink.  I didn’t get a photograph of his blue tongue, but I did see it.

Fourth was Maisie.  Maisie is a Corn Snake and I think I heard that she is indigenous to this area.  She got the name Maisie from the American Indian word for corn, Maise

The last exhibit was the highlight of the day and one I’ve been hoping to see since he was born last year.  Blitz is a Eurasian Lynx, born of the pair of Eurasian Lynxes living at the zoo.  They are named Ugo and Ilvy and there are photos of them throughout this page.

Blitz is one year old.  He was born May 1, 2010 at the zoo.  Watching him it is so easy to understand that he is a big cat at heart since he behaves just like a house cat in many ways.  Every move seems to be thought out in advance and is so graceful with no wasted motion.  He rolled over in the grass and licked his paws to wash with, just like every other cat I’ve ever seen.

I really enjoy the Meerkats at the Nashville Zoo.  Unlike some of the animals these little guys are never still, never calm.  They are always on the move, running or playing or digging.  Even in the safe environs of the zoo there is always one who is on “Sentry Duty”, and he (or she) will stand on a rock or plant and watch out for any predators that might be lurking among the visitors.

In January a litter of pups was born, and I just happened to be there when they first popped out of the burrows.  The newborn pups are growing like weeds and some newer photos of them are below.

One of the nice things about living close to the Nashville Zoo, as well as being an annual member, is that I can go by there for a little while to “Try Things” with my camera gear.  I don’t have to wonder whether or not I can view an animal, they are nearly always right where they are supposed to be!

I purchased a new teleconverter for my camera and wanted to see how well it worked so I stopped at the zoo for a little while today.  The TC lets my little 300mm lens stretch itself out to 420mm focal length, but at the cost of one f-stop of light and a slight reduction in sharpness.  I’ve had a 2x TC for a long time, but it costs 2 f-stops and the loss in sharpness is terrible most of the time.  This new one is much, much better and I’m quite pleased with the results so far.

The young Giraffe below is named Suzasita and she was born in November, 2010.  Her parents Margarita and Congo are in the first photo with her.

Of course I can’t go by the zoo without a shot or two of Ming and Mei!  Ming was up in his tree hiding but Mei was snoozing under some bushes.

The Hyacinth Macaws are always riotous.  They frequently squabble among each other, but as can be seen by the grin in the second photo it’s all in good fun!

These animals are so expressive I think I could watch them all day.  They seem to be inordinately intelligent and just looking at their faces it is easy to feel that they are actually wondering what I’m doing.  They are one of my favorite exhibits at the Nashville Zoo and I stop to visit them each time I’m there.

I have had a difficult time getting good photographs of them though.  Their paddock is fenced and heavily shaded.  They frequently sit up in the trees and I find myself shooting against the sun or with a high-contrast background or something.  Today was not a lot better but one of them was sitting on a rope right by the edge of the viewing area.  I was hanging over the barricade, shooting almost straight up, through the fence, and through some branches.  I like the way it turned out though.

This tiny little owl was sitting on her keeper’s hand while I was walking through the Nashville Zoo today.  I think I heard the keeper say that he is a Pygmy Screech Owl but I could be wrong.  I know I heard him state that he had been at the zoo for the past five years so he is fully grown.  He appeared to be a little annoyed at being out in the cool, windy weather but I’m certainly glad that he was!

For an idea of how small he is look at the photographs.  He is sitting on his keeper’s hand and his thumb is clearly visible for size reference.

That “Woodland Camouflage” he wears is perfect to!  Imagine him sitting against a tree and his feather patterns would blend in perfectly.  Unless he made a sound I’m sure I’d walk right by and never even see him.

Such a BIG world out here!  That had to be his first thought ...

This Meerkat pup is probably about 3 weeks old, but this is apparently his first visit outside their underground burrow.  They are born underground, open their eyes at about 2 weeks, and venture outside for the first time at about 3 weeks.  The first three weeks of his life have been in an underground burrow and then all of a sudden he sees the real world.

As I walked by their area at the Nashville Zoo today there were about a dozen Zoo staff members, including the Zoo photographer, inside the pen.  I talked with one of them and she said that this was the first time that they had been seen.  There are three pups and apparently they first appeared above ground about 20 minutes before I got there.

How amazing to see something like this.  His first views of the world! What thoughts were running through his mind? So big?  So bright?  So frightening?  I was so lucky to walk by at just the right moment.

This was the only one of the three that I saw, and after a few minutes the “Babysitter” (as the adults that watch over them are called) grabbed the scruff of his neck and took him back into the burrow.

This is a Rhinocerous Hornbill, and these are the best two photographs I have of this unusual bird.  He is a resident at the Nashville Zoo however he normally says way up in the top of the trees in his area, and his area is fenced.  Today he was down close to the ground playing with his toy (a piece of bamboo on a rope) and I managed to get a couple of decent shots of him.

Ming is a Clouded Leopard living at the Nashville Zoo with his sister Mei.  Clouded Leopards are amazing cats with traits not found in any other species of feline.  Their short legs and long tail provide them with unbelievable agility when climbing.

Their area of the zoo is one of the areas I always have to stop at when I visit.  I could watch them all day long.  They are absolutely amazing creatures.

Nashville Zoo - December 27, 2010

It wasn't a "Little" too cold to do much of anything else today, it was a LOT too cold!  We've gotten a couple of inches of snow over the past couple of days and that combined with temperatures hovering below freezing and a little breeze have made for some rather cold weather.  I headed for the zoo, but barely even got outside.  I went to the "Unseen New World" area which is an indoor exhibit of fish, reptiles, amphibians, and birds.  They keep it rather steamy for the benefit of the animals, and today it felt quite good!

Nashville Zoo - December 18, 2010

Once again it was a bit too cold to get out and do much of anything, even though it was warmer than the 8° we experienced earlier this week!  I stopped at the zoo for a while primarily to photograph some of the fish and reptiles in the Unseen New World" area.  That area is always warm and steamy which I'm sure the residents appreciate a great deal.

I'm not very good using a flash so I've been spending some time recently working on that.  The photographs still aren't quite what I want but they do look better than some of my earlier attempts.

Nashville Zoo - December 4, 2010

Living a couple of miles from the Nashville Zoo comes in handy since I can run by there for a little while without spending a lot of time getting there.  Being an annual member so that I don't have to pay an entrance fee each time is even handier ;)

It was cloudy today with a 50% chance of rain.  Tomorrow is supposed to be about 20° colder today so there has to be some rain in there somewhere.  Armed with my rain jacket just in case, I stopped by the zoo for a while planning mainly to photograph some of the fish and reptiles inside.

While I was photographing the fish and reptiles one of the staff of the zoo stopped and talked for a few minutes.  She said that the Clouded Leopards were in a really frisky mood today.  She said that they were paying with their balls and chasing each other around and just enjoying the cool weather.

When I got there, they were having a great time.  One of them, I think it was Mei, the female, was playing with her ball in the creek that runs through their paddock.  She Would grab it, throw it out of the water, throw it back in the water, and start the whole routine over again.

Everything was fine until a small bird managed to fly into their paddock.  The larger of the two, I think it was Ming, went FLYING up a tree (it's unbelievable how fast they can climb a tree!) and when the other saw what was going on the ball was completely forgotten for a little while.

Nashville Zoo - November 27, 2010

Once again I stopped at the zoo only for a little while.  I wanted to try something with one of my lenses and needed to shoot something at some distance.  I remembered that the Tigers at the zoo tend to stay near the rear of their paddock so that seemed like a good candidate.

Nashville Zoo - November 20, 2010

I stopped at the zoo for a little while today.  That's one of the nice things about being a member with unlimited annual visits, I don't have to worry about stopping for just a few minutes.  Anyway, I stopped primarily to get a few more photos of the Mandarin Ducks in the Lorikeet cage but they weren't quite finished cleaning it up when I got there so I roamed around for about 30 minutes taking a few other photos.

Nashville Zoo - November 13, 2010

This will probably be our last really nice weekend for a while.  I want to ride my motorcycle tomorrow (weather permitting!) but today there was really nothing much going on.  Most of the summer events have wound down and the holiday events haven't gotten started to it's kind of a slow time.  It was a good time to go to the zoo though since when I arrived there was virtually nobody there.  It was really nice while it lasted to!

Nashville Zoo - October 2, 2010

Fall is starting to make its way into Tennessee and it's a welcome change from the blistering hot summer that we experienced this year.  Tomorrow I'm going to ride my motorcycle some but today I decided to go to the Nashville Zoo for a while.

I talked to a friend right after I got to the zoo and she said that she wanted photographs of a Gorilla and a Giraffe.  Since she's a special person to me I had to accomodate her wishes ;)

Edit ... She told me that the "Gorilla" is a monkey and that I need to brush up on my primate identification skills ;)
Edit ... Then she told me that it's a bit big for a monkey and might be a chimpanzee ;)

I always seem to photograph the same exhibits, but occasionally I manage to get a photograph of one of them that I haven't gotten before.  Many of the animals prefer to lay in the shade or hang out in a tree or someplace that makes it difficult to get a photograph of them.  There are fences and walls in the way that cause problems to.  I've gotten something decent of most of them now, with the exception of the tigers, but some of them still leave a lot to be desired.  I'll keep trying though.

These Ring-Tailed Lemurs are adorable, but they are in an area enclosed by a chain link fence.  No matter what I do I can't keep the fence out of the photographs.  It's way out of focus and looks like gray bars but it's still there.  Sorry, not much more I can do about it, the zoo guys won't let me climb in there with them ;)

Nashville Zoo - August 28, 2010

It's cooled off a little bit in Tennessee.  In fact it's cooled off a lot with temperatures dropping from 100° a couple of weeks ago to only 90° now, but it's still pretty warm and humid.  Regardless of the heat I decided to go by the zoo for a while this morning and grab a few critter photos since there are still some there that I haven't managed to get a decent shot of.

I've never managed to get good photos of the Siamang or White Cheeked Gibbons.  They are normally up in the trees, and I always seem to go to the zoo in the morning.  Their area is arranged so that visitors are facing east, right into the morning sun.  Every time I've been they have been terribly backlighted, and today was no exception.

The Flamingo Lagoon exhibit is new and this is the first time I've seen it.  When I was there last month it was still under construction.  I heard another visitor mention that it isn't even supposed to be open yet, but it obviously is.  The birds seem to be taking to their new surroundings pretty well, but haven't gotten used to the noise of the airplanes overhead yet.  Each time an airplane flew over they get very agitated and started trying to fly around.

The Clouded Leopards in the photos below are more closely related to the prehistoric Sabre Toothed Tiger than any present-day cats.  If you doubt that take a look at the teeth in the last photo on the first row below!

The first four photos are of Ming and the last two are of his sister Mei.  These are the first photos I've manage to get of Mei since she is normally hanging around in the back of the pen when I am there.  She was restless today and was pacing the pen until she finally decided to take a nap under a bush.

Nashville Zoo - July 11, 2010

How do you spell relief?  Around here we spell it R-A-I-N, at least temporarily.  Yesterday evening a few localized thunderstorms blew through and for a few hours it was wonderful!  It didn't last though and by mid-morning today it was back near 90° with humidity bouncing off the peg.

I wasn't really in the mood to ride my motorcycle today so I decided to go to the zoo for a while.  Some of the animals looked like they were just about as tired of this heat and humidity as I am, but it felt good to get out and walk around for a while.

Ever seen an Iguana getting a neck rub?  Apparently they are quite tame because if you look closely you can see that the crazy critter has his eyes closed.  I suspect he would be purring if he was capable of it!

The Clouded Leopard below is named Ming.  He and his sister Mei were born at the zoo and have been there for 7 years.  He looks like he has just about had enough of Tennessee's hot and humid weather to.

Ming was certainly taking an interest in my photographing him though.  As can be seen in the third photo below, once he noticed me he stared right down my lens trying to see what was going on in his domain.  That photograph isn't cropped at all and I was about 30' away behind a sheet of glass between the viewing area and the cats, but I felt like he was looking all the way into my soul.  Apparently he was satisfied with what he saw since he eventually decided to go back to sleep.

I really find the Schmidt's Guenon to be an interesting species.  Look at the expression on this guy's face, it's almost as if he is thinking about something.  I think that there is more intelligence in some animals than we frequently give them credit for.

Nashville Zoo - June 27, 2010

It absolutely poured down rain yesterday evening.  Very heavy thunderstorms for a couple of hours, trees and limbs down, and so on.  The forecast was for the low 90's today and with the moisture left over from the rain I knew the humidity would be horrendous.  When I got up the thought of riding my bike in the heat didn't appeal, but somehow I convinced myself that going to the zoo was a good idea.  I must have still been asleep or something is the only excuse I have for my delusion.

I got to the zoo just as they opened at 9:00 and it was already hot.  The Hyacinth Macaw is the first exhibit after entering, and by the time I got there I was already sweating.  I convinced myself that as the morning wore on the humidity would drop and it would start to feel cooler.  By 11:00 I was done in and headed home.  I only saw about half the exhibits, and some that I really wanted to see just wouldn't cooperate.  The Clouded Leopard was stretched out on a limb apparently trying to cool off and the Red Pandas were up high in a tree doing the same thing.  It was just plain the wrong time of year to go to the zoo so I'll try again when it cools down a bit.

Nashville Zoo - March 13, 2010

I went to sleep last night to the sound of rain and it was still drizzling when I got up.  Typical Tennessee March weather.  It quit during the early morning hours however the forecast, which turned out to be right for once, said that there was more to come later in the morning.  So rather than ride my motorcycle I went to the zoo for a couple of hours.

I was surprised that several of the animals were not out since it was actually warmer than when I was there in November.  I really missed the Hyacinth Macaws but I did get some decent photos of the other animals.

These two photographs show a Dwarf Caiman, both what is seen from above the surface of the water and what remains below the surface of the water.  That low profile makes it a lot easier to sneak up on their prey.

The photographs below are of a Clouded Leopard named Ming.  His sister Mei was in the same area but she was asleep under a bush and I couldn't get a good photograph of her.  I talked to their handler and the tree that Ming is sitting atop is apparently their "Safe" area.  Ming will chase Mei and Mei will chase Ming but once either of them reaches the top of the tree the chase is over since they have agreed between themselves that the top of the tree is the safe area.

Take note that in the second photograph his eyes are closed.  He kept dozing off while sitting on the top of that tree.  Apparently the fact that he was about 40' in the air didn't bother him in the slightest.  That's not real susprising since, according to what I read on Wikipedia, Clouded Leopards are especially well suited for climbing trees.  Their large paws and long tails give them a distinct advantage over their other cat cousins, but their ankles are also extremely flexible.  This allows them to climb down a tree, not jump from a tree but actually climb down, head first.  They can also climb along limbs hanging upside down from the bottom of them.  No other cat can do these things.

Nashville Zoo - November 21, 2009

Today was a beautiful late fall day with temperatures forecast to top out in the mid 60's.  Not a cloud in ths sky, and just too nice to stay inside.  I went by Radnor Lake and took some photographs and then headed for the Nashville Zoo for another visit.  Some of the animals that were out earlier in the year were not there today but it was still a gret way to spend a few hours and take some cool photographs.

As I mentioned, the weather was absolutely perfect and, this late in the year, the crowd was rather small.  Naturally my only complaint about the entire afternoon would be about the weather.  The path through the zoo makes a large irregularly-shaped loop so, in theory, it should not have been possible for virtually every one of the animals to be back-lighted.  It seems to me that this was the case though because no matter where I went it seems like the sun was behind the animals and I was having a difficult time metering the shots.  Oh well, that's the story of my life ;)  Most of them still turned out pretty decently.

Nashville Zoo - April 11, 2009

I've lived about 3 miles from the Nashville Zoo since it was built but have never been to visit it.  I decided I needed to go see what was there and take a few photographs of the animals, so I headed over there.  I wish I had picked a day other than the day before Easter since there were hundreds of kids everywhere having an Easter Egg Hunt, but other than that it was an interesting and enjoyable way to spend a few hours

African Crested Porcupine

African Crested Porcupine

African Elephants

African Elephants

African Elephants

Bengal Tigers

Bengal Tigers

Bengal Tigers

Bengal Tigers

Cougars

Cougars

Double-Wattled Cassowary

Double-Wattled Cassowary

Double-Wattled Cassowary

East African Crowned Crane

East African Crowned Crane

East African Crowned Crane

East African Crowned Crane

Eurasian Lynx

Eurasian Lynx

Hyacinth Macaw

Hyacinth Macaw

Hyacinth Macaw

Masai Giraffe

Masai Giraffe

Masai Giraffe

Masai Giraffe

Meerkat

Meerkat

Mountain Bongo

Mountain Bongo

Mountain Bongo

Mountain Bongo

Ostrich

Ostrich

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Ring-Tailed Lemur

Ring-Tailed Lemur

Saddle-Billed Stork

Saddle-Billed Stork

Schmidt's Guenon

Schmidt's Guenon

Schmidt's Guenon

Schmidt's Guenon

White Cheeked Gibbon

White Cheeked Gibbon

White Cheeked Gibbon

Zebra

Zebra

Zebra

Zebra