Nashville Zoo Opposes Adjacent DC BLOX Data Center Over Wildlife Impact

The Nashville Zoo, which successfully bred a clouded leopard cub this season, is contesting a proposal by Atlanta‑based DC BLOX to build a large data center just beyond the zoo’s perimeter. Zoo officials warn that the facility’s constant noise, light and vibrations could disrupt the sensitive breeding program for clouded leopards and affect other species such as elephants and cassowaries that rely on low‑frequency communication.

DC BLOX says its modern design will address the zoo’s concerns, but zoo CEO Rick Schwartz argues that no industrial‑scale data center should sit next to an accredited zoo, calling the dispute unprecedented. Experts cited in the report note that data centers generate a low humming noise that animals can feel and that may alter behavior.

A petition launched by the zoo has gathered more than 500,000 signatures in four weeks, drawing support from public figures like country singer Brad Paisley, who called the project “an absolute nightmare.” The controversy reflects a broader national debate over the rapid expansion of data centers to meet growing cloud‑computing and AI demand, with communities nationwide raising issues about power consumption, water use, noise, and light pollution.