With a total of 615,086 guests last year, the Nashville Zoo’s attendance broke records for the park in ‘09.

Zoo memberships also increased about 9%, leaving Nashville’s zoo in a pretty good situation. 

Zoo President Rick Schwartz states the reason for the higher attendance to be more new animals, saying, “The addition of some new animals definitely helped jump-start our 2009 season.  In March we introduced white tiger cubs, eight zebras and a pair of giant anteaters over a three-week period leading up to and including spring break. We were successful with the birth of three clouded leopard cubs over the summer and were able to present those to our guests through the fall.”

I think I’ll let it warm up a bit more before I venture back to Grassmere.