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Nashville Zoo Visitors Can Now See Animals In The Operating Room

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courtesy Nashville Zoo
The Nashville Zoo's animal hospital officially opens to the public on Saturday. It replaces a 30-year-old facility that was designed when the zoo, then known as Grassmere, was primarily for small, indigenous creatures.
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Immunizing a clouded leopard. A physical for an armadillo. And an eye exam for a milk frog. That’s Friday’s lineup in the Nashville Zoo’s newest attraction: an animal hospital.

The 23,000-square-foot facility will even allow the staff to conduct surgery for zoo-goers to observer. But veterinary director Heather Robertson says the more mundane features have her personally excited.

“Little things, like a wet table where you can clean teeth. If you go and get your teeth cleaned, you’ll spit in a cup and stuff. But animals, you can’t, right. It’s just draining on the ground. We never had one of those tables to be able to clean from.”

More:

Newest Zoo Attraction Provides A Glimpse At Live Animal Surgeries

The grand opening is Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Starting next week, the daily schedule of procedures will be posted on Twitter at
@NashZooVet.

A tiered seating area provides enough space for 200 people to watch procedures, along with video monitors for overflow crowds.

The $13 million hospital, at the rear of the zoo’s property, was funded by private donors, led by human hospital operator HCA. Metro Government also contributed to build the complex.

Filed Under: Health Care, WPLN News Tagged With: ,

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Blake Farmer, Host, This Is Nashville

Blake Farmer is the host of “This Is Nashville,” the flagship weekday show of Nashville Public Radio. Previously, Blake spent 16 years at WPLN News, serving as host, editor and news director. Before a two-year radio hiatus with a Nashville-based healthcare company, Blake was one of the country’s most prolific healthcare audio journalists. He produced stories for both local and national programs, extending the reach of his reporting through a partnership with KFF Health News. Outside of work, Blake can be found running or biking on roads that other Nashvillians consider too busy for such activities. So far, he has always made it home to his wife of 20 years and two children.

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