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Photos courtesy of Nashville Zoo
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Photos courtesy of Nashville Zoo
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Photos courtesy of Nashville Zoo
After nearly seven years of conceptualizing and building, Nashville Zoo’s HCA Healthcare Veterinarian Center has opened its doors to the public.
The brand new, $13 million facility replaces an antiquated building that was unable to keep up with the Zoo’s recent expansion. Dr. Heather Robertson, director of veterinary services, is especially excited about the facility.
“Our collection is growing like crazy. A long time ago, this was indigenous wildlife, just local wildlife. Now, our collection is more than 2,000 animals and it’s continuing to grow by the day, so we needed more space, and we wanted to up our quality of care,” she says, adding, “we [also] wanted to educate the public and show them a glimpse into our world and what we do on the day-to-day.”
With new state-of-the-art technology, the center features an operating room where staff can perform surgeries on animals weighing up to 2,000 pounds, something that would have been impossible in the old location. The new hospital also includes a treatment room fit with dental care, a dedicated space for pharmaceuticals, an intensive care unit, and an administrative wing. These separate areas not only serve as additional operating space, but they also allow for more frequent and sterile surgeries.
Procedures will take place nearly every day, and guests can witness them firsthand through the hospital’s viewing deck.
“They’ll be able to learn about what we do and see videos about the aspects of our care and our training of our animals. They’ll be able to hear about our nutrition programs and how we feed all of our animals within the Zoo. They’ll be able to see into the windows to be able to watch our babies being hand-raised or fed, or they’ll see eggs hatching,” Robertson says.
Through forward thinking and visits to other animal hospitals, the center is prepared for the Zoo’s continuing growth.
“It’s absolutely amazing to be in here. We are thrilled with the space and the care we’re going to be able to provide the animals,” Robertson says. “We’re super excited to share it with the guests and let them see.”