For The First Time In Decades, Nashville’s Zoo Has No Elephants

The Nashville Zoo has retired all of its elephants, and it’s unclear when the city will get another herd.

The last of the four females left this month for The Elephant Sanctuary in Howenwald, and now they’re not coming back. A couple had been with the zoo since the mid-90s, when it was located in Joelton.

“Our philosophy towards a temporary relocation of our elephants became more of a permanent relocation,” says spokesman Jim Bartoo.

The plan — at first — was for a simple renovation of the elephant barn to meet new safety specifications meant to protect zookeepers. That
has turned into building an entirely new complex so the zoo can accommodate a bigger herd, perhaps a male for the first time.

Bartoo says Sukari, the youngest elephant who is 31, probably had enough good years to return.

“But in the end, the kind of bonding that we saw, really kind of sealed it up that this is going to be the best decision to just kind of keep them together at the elephant sanctuary,” he says.

Bartoo has already had to apologize to disappointed out-of-town visitors. Until a new herd moves in, he says the zoo is looking for some white rhinos to roam the three-acre exhibit space left by the elephants.

“They will be back,” Bartoo says. “And when they come back, it’s going to be bigger and better than ever.”

The zoo is in the middle of a
massive expansion that is supposed to fill out its collection with lions and gorillas by 2020. Metro Government
contributed $10 million toward the project last year.