600,000 sign to stop data centre beside Nashville Zoo as clouded leopard cub leads fight

A proposed 69,000 sq ft data centre beside Nashville Zoo in Nashville, Tennessee, has triggered a huge public campaign, with nearly 600,000 people signing a Change.org petition opposing the development. The project, proposed by digital infrastructure company DC BLOX, has raised concerns at the zoo over potential noise, artificial light and other impacts from round-the-clock data centre operations on vulnerable animals and conservation programmes. A young clouded leopard named Mayuree, born at the zoo in May 2026, became a powerful symbol of the campaign as the zoo urged supporters to oppose the project. The dispute has since moved beyond the petition, with Nashville officials introducing restrictions on large data centres and authorising steps that could allow the city to acquire the disputed property.Why Nashville Zoo opposed the data centreThe proposed development is located at 648 Grassmere Park, immediately adjacent to Nashville Zoo. The initial project application described a single-storey data centre of approximately 69,220 sq ft on a 23.49-acre property. The zoo raised concerns that a facility operating continuously could introduce persistent mechanical noise from cooling eq...