Rick Schwartz’s fascination with animals extends back as far as he can remember. He fell in love with animals as an infant, started collecting snakes at the age of 7 and got his first job — at a pet shop, naturally — at 12. When he moved to Nashville in 1989 to manage the Nashville Zoo, he had a personal collection of 176 wild creatures that included lions, tigers, monkeys, leopards and pythons.
Since 1989, Rick has built and established the zoo as Nashville’s top paid attraction, attracting more than 1.2 million visitors last year. He’s elevated the zoo’s profile through world-class exhibits and internationally recognized conservation efforts. In addition to his work breeding clouded leopards at the Nashville Zoo, where 53 cubs have been born, Rick is the co-founder of the Clouded Leopard Consortium in Thailand. He also serves on the boards of GRACE (Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education) and the IRF (International Rhino Foundation) and on the steering committee of the Tapir TAG (Taxon Advisory Group).
In recent years, under Rick’s leadership, the Nashville Zoo unveiled a new Andean bear exhibit (which won Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Exhibit Award in 2019), a Sumatran tiger exhibit (currently nominated for the Exhibit Award), an entry village and veterinary hospital. The biggest exhibit — a 40-acre immersive African safari experience — is yet to come and is the project Rick is most excited about. We caught up with the zookeeper about his career, his love of animals and what’s next for the Nashville Zoo.
THE BASICS
Name: Rick SchwartzÂ
Profession/Title: President and CEO, Nashville Zoo
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Zip Code: 37075
Years in Nashville: 31
Number of clouded leopard cubs born to the Nashville Zoo: 53
What’s your favorite Nashville Zoo exhibit? That is a really difficult question to answer. I am extremely proud of our new entrance and veterinary hospital, both of which won top honors from the Associated Builders and Contractors in Tennessee. Winning Exhibit of the Year in 2019 from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for our Andean bear exhibit was one of the highlights of my career. The zoo’s new Sumatran tiger exhibit is perhaps the most detailed exhibit we have ever produced and is also nominated for Exhibit of the Year this year. I am equally proud of our Unseen New World exhibit, which was the very first animal exhibit we built at the Grassmere location in 1998. So these are my top five projects, but my favorite exhibit is yet to come, which will be a 40-acre African immersion experience.
What animal/species do you wish the Nashville Zoo had? My short list is down to around 150, but my ultimate dream is to build one of the finest gorilla exhibits in the world.
What was your scariest or craziest animal encounter? I was bitten and "temporarily contained" by an 18-foot python the week my daughter was born, which was not one of my better days.
What was the most recent birth at the Nashville Zoo? We had a litter of Palawan binturongs, also known as bear cats. Nashville Zoo is the only facility in North America that breeds this vulnerable species, so these births are significant.
What was your first pet? I started collecting snakes when I was 7 and had a collection of 40 by the time I was 10. My first mammal was a coatimundi — a South American relative of the raccoon — which I got when I was 12.
What’s the one thing you hope never changes in Nashville? The generosity of Nashvillians. I remain amazed and humbled by what I see as one of the most generous and philanthropic communities I could ever imagine. The zoo has received tremendous support from the private sector, as have so many worthwhile nonprofits in Middle Tennessee. I am perhaps most impressed with how our community never fails to come together in times of crisis, such as the devastating flood in 2010, the recent tornadoes and now the COVID virus. I am proud to live in this great city and always intend to call it home.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.