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Take a look behind the scenes of the Nashville Zoo with an up close and personal look at giraffes, elephants and lots of other furry residents!
Maybe I’ve seen them before … but not up close and personal like this. Â I’m talking “drooled on with sticky giraffe slobber – wet kiss” close.
And without a doubt, it was the coolest wet kiss I’ve ever had!
We went to the zoo and I turned into a 5 year old little girl again.
Yes I am short, about 5′ 1″ (+-), but giraffes are really, really tall and feeding this ginormous giraffe was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done … in my whole life! Â I must be deprived or easily entertained or something because I can’t stop thinking about our weekend in Nashville and my time with Damani, the male giraffe that stands about 20 feet tall.
This may be as close as I ever get to an actual photo safari in Africa so it was a dream come true. Â My husband’s sister-in-law, Rita B (in the blue jacket) is a vet tech at the Nashville zoo. Â She has cared for zoo animals for almost 30 years in Dallas and Nashville. Â For many of those years she’s invited us to come and take the behind-the-scenes tour of her office and say hello to her little friends! Â Wish we had done this sooner!
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The weather in Nashville was cold and rainy with a chilly, blustery wind. Â Little did I know that bad weather would make our visit that much better. Â Many of the animals don’t go out into their habitats during cold weather so that means we didn’t have to view them across the yard, we got invited into their homes.
Check out this link for for some fascinating facts about “our animals at the Nashville Zoo” including the giraffes, their habitats, and characteristics.
“Does my butt look big in this shot?”
We were joined by my nephew Eric, his lovely wife Kendra and their super adorable son Connor. Â They drove up from Chattanooga to meet us and take the tour. Â So blessed to have fun time with family!
Damani had a thing for my nephew’s wife Kendra.
He wasn’t going to let her get down the stairs without a kiss!
Damani was so interesting and I guess he thought we were too.
I felt like I was standing next to a real live dinosaur. Â Giraffes are beautiful, gentle, colorful, strange, exotic and they have large bulging eyes that are almost hypnotic.
Damani loves lettuce leaves.
Even my three year old great-nephew wasn’t afraid to fed Damani.
There are several subspecies of giraffe in the wild.  The Nashville Zoo has two different varieties.  Notice the color and pattern difference?  So beautiful.
The zoo had a new baby giraffe this past December. Â Damani is a daddy!
The mommy giraffe was very protective and aware of everything.
I like her little hair do and beautiful long eye lashes – so adorable.
Next we moved on to the elephants.
They have 4 female African elephants with Rosie being the oldest at age 45.
I never knew that elephants can be very dangerous, especially to zookeepers. Â More zookeepers die from elephant related accidents than any other animal. Â I would have thought tigers or lions owned that statistic.
So we kept our distance and observed them from beyond trunk distance.
We were not allowed to cross the grate on the floor, which I was happy to know!
Later in the day they went into their habitat for a few hours of playtime. Â We caught them just as they were going back in for the evening.
The Zoo is currently running a DinoTrek exhibit displaying 15 life size, moving, spitting, hissing and roaring dinosaurs.  It was a little like being in a Jurassic Park movie with the rain, mist, fog, scary sounds, and thundering booms.  Great-nephew Connor and his Dad posed with a few of their favorites.
Don’t go in the long grass!
The fog machine really made it extra creepy.
Connor was very brave (especially for a three year old) and just blended in with this dino-hoodie! Â He made his parents go through the woods three times – so cute.
After a quick stop at the gift store, lunch was in order.
Connor knows the names of all the dinosaurs. Â He and his dad love dinosaurs.
After a quick lunch at the Zoofari Cafe we continued on the adventure.
We headed over to the clinic where Rita B does most of her work.  This is where they take care of sick and injured animals, do medical procedures and surgery, and perform studies documenting the data gathered to help protect the animals and their offspring.   This pretty girl is a tamandua.  She is a tree-dwelling relative of the giant anteater.  She can wrap her tail around branches and hang on like an opossum.
The Nashville Zoo has a whole barn of anteaters but we couldn’t get good photos as it was very dark and the bars were close together. Â Rita B has been working on a study about anteaters and their hormones (via their poop) and hopes to wrap it up in the next year. Â Fascinating stuff. Â We also got to see a kangaroo coming out of surgery to remove a broken tooth. Â I know she is going to feel much better!
These are just some of the reasons why I look up to Rita B. Â She is fearless and caring and loves the animals. Â She has way too much fun at work and is passionate about the medical care of their residents. Â She is also very fun to travel with and super smart! Â Rita has traveled all over the world including a trip Africa to observe gorillas. Â She even buys me blogging props while antiquing in Nashville (thanks for the antique ice cream scoop!) Â We love ya Rita B!
The Nashville Zoo recently opened a new habitat named Kangaroo Kickabout.  Visitors can walk along the winding path and see kangaroos playing in their Australian habitat.  The weather had started to break so the roo’s had been outside for some fun.  See the kangaroos on the top left?  The zookeepers were just coming out to call the kangaroos back in for dinner when we arrived.
We were allowed to hop along with the crew and see where they spend their evenings.
They don’t seem bothered by us at all!
Once inside the enclosure, one of the zookeepers brought out a yellow crested Cockatoo for Connor to meet.
Male and female (in the back) Eurasian Lynx
Gorgeous and vocal Clouded Leopards
Here kitty, kitty!
They had two new baby camels – both under a month old. Â Thank goodness they had not learned how to spit yet!
Connor and Eric enjoyed a ride on the Wild Animal Carousel.
Every front yard needs one! Â (That’s a little Florida joke)
Eric and Connor feeding nectar to the Rainbow Lorikeets.
Connor is obviously a bird kind-of guy! Â Did I mention he’s only three years old? Â Amazing!
A quick stop in the aquarium to visit a few alligators …
… lots of turtles ….
… and a bunch of fish. Â We had a full day of fun and can’t wait to do it again!
Thanks to my husband for sharing some of his photos with me. Â I personally enjoyed shooting something other than food. Â Moving, breathing, animated subjects are much harder to photograph than a plate of brownies. Â I hope to get more opportunities like this again soon.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Â I’ll have a new recipe for you on Monday. Â We got invited to a block party this weekend and I can’t wait to drag our lawn chairs out of the shed and put on sunglasses. Â Happy Spring to you!
Tricia
michaelswoodcraft says
How lucky are you!! What an amazing experience, you took beautiful photos 🙂 Love the giraffe too. When we lived in Crossville, TN we would take our kids to the zoo in Nashville, we always had a great time.
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
Oh Tricia! I love anything to do with animals. What fun you had. I am always amazed at the depth of an animal's eyes. I think because it would be amazing to know what they are thinking. I was lucky enough to feed giraffes in a park in Texas! So gentle they are. And that anteater relation looked just like a stuffed animal in the photo. So precious! Great photos and a lovely family!
Big Dude says
Weather aside, looks like you had a great visit. It was special to have someone who could give you a behind the scenes look.
Mary Younkin says
This is so cool, Tricia!!! Love all the shots. Those giraffes are fantastic. What an awesome experience.
Monica says
Thank you for sharing these pictures, Tricia! My son just finished reading Roald Dahl's 'Giraffe, and the Pelly and Me' and we were just talking about giraffes. So I just showed him your pics and he was like: "woah!" It looks like a really amazing experience!
Elzbieta Hester says
Loove the giraffes…they are my favorite together with zebras. A great trip! 🙂 ela
Cheri Savory Spoon says
Wow, What a great time you must of had, the giraffes are my favorite, love the little expressions on their faces.
Anna and Liz Recipes says
SO SO SWEET!! What a beautiful zoo, so clean and pristine looking from the photos you took. Fabulous photos, by the way. Great trip and a memorable one for you all! Great job Tricia! Have a great weekend!
Angie Schneider says
What a fun day! We love to visit zoo too. Those giraffe photos are so amazing.<br />Have a wonderful weekend, Tricia!<br />Angie
TLady says
WHAT WONDERFUL PICTURES TRICIA!!!! I LOVE your tour of these MAGNIFICENT ANIMALS! AND your little nephew & his daddy take me back to when our son was three! TOOO SWEET!:) Kids just LOVE this! It's FUN to discover the world with daddy watching over you! 🙂
Wendy says
Wow! How special to get an up close and personal, behind the scenes look at the animals! Extra special because you were with family and could enjoy the experience through the eyes of a 3 year old as well! No wonder you drove all that way!! The photos are great, Tricia! Thank you for sharing your adventure! 🙂
maryschrbr says
Absolutely Beautiful! Thank You for sharing!!
Melissa says
I'm incredibly jealous! I need to make friends with your family in Chattanooga since that's where I'm at. ;D Haha. I should have stayed in school to become a vet tech instead of entrepreneurship! But I know a zoo job would have been very hard to obtain. Anyway..awesome visit!
Chris Scheuer says
How fun Tricia and your photos are amazing. I'll never think of a giraffe the same again 🙂 We're headed to Nashville to visit friends sometime in the next few months. This zoo will be on our list. Thanks for sharing!
AdriBarr says
Wow! And I though this was just about the giraffes! What positively glorious photographs, and the animals are really magnificent. "It's all happening at the zoo!"
Sue/the view from great island says
Wow, those are some amazing photos! I think my favorite are the baby camels!!
Elena Haskew says
I am so jealous! What fun! I'm also a little mad because you didn't come to Chattanooga! It would have been so great to see you! Love your blog, Triicia! I'm a little jealous of that too! Lol love to Ed!