Nashville’s Newest Heartthrob, Hamish

Photo from Bree Fabbie

Good Morning America visited the Nashville Zoo, but not to do a segment on the clouded leopards, Mexican spider monkeys or other remarkable critters.  

Instead, they filmed a segment highlighting Hamish.  

Hamish is a red, fluffy, 130 pound, 10-week-old Highland cow the zoo introduced to the public in February.  

Hamish lives in the historic farm section of the zoo with the goats, donkeys, bulls and pigs. 

When he’s not in the field, he rests in his pen right outside the barn, neighboring the miniature goats, who he intently watches jump around and play. 

Leah Trice, the zoo’s communications specialist, said the zoo received Hamish from a farm in Georgia after he did not bond with his mom.  

“We knew he would become popular because he’s the cutest thing ever and then also everyone loves Highland cows right now. They’re very trendy,” said Trice.  

Good Morning America and thousands of viewers became fans of the red fluff ball after a video of him running around in the snow went viral. 

“We were like ‘we’ll just put out a video, everyone’s going to like this video of him zooming around’” and then it kind of just took off. I don’t think we were expecting it to get this much coverage,” Trice said.  

However, for marketing and public relations director Jim Bartoo, Hamish’s popularity is bittersweet.  

“I’m a little setback because for years and years I’ve been dying to get on Good Morning America to show off all these great and amazing animals we have. Finally, just a couple of weeks ago, we got a chance to be on air for a cow of all things,” said Bartoo in a podcast with the Nashville Banner. 

Bartoo has worked at the Nashville Zoo since 1999 and was surprised when Hamish, over other animals, turned people’s heads.   

“We’re sending out to the rest of America that this great zoo that has these stunning exhibits, ‘the Nashville Zoo has a cow,’” he said. 

The zoo isn’t just using Hamish for his charm though, it plans to make him an ambassador, too.  

“We have a few ambassador animals that live behind the scenes. Basically, they are raised to interact with humans so that they can come out and do classes and stuff like that. We have an education outreach program and so they’re trained to be able to handle those opportunities,” said Trice. “That’s kind of what Hamish will be. We’ll take him on walks around and have a keeper out here periodically to help the public learn more about Highland cows and heritage breeds.”  

Three moms walking with strollers make their way over to Hamish’s pen as their toddlers giggle and clap for the cow.  

The moms seem more excited than their children though, as they try to get Hamish’s attention and talk over each other in excitement.  

“I saw him on Instagram and Good Morning America.”  

“He’s so cute and fuzzy. I’ve never seen one in person, but I love it.” 

“He’s wonderful, he’s super cute. I want to see him bounce around.” 

Kaitlyn Ziebell, a neuroscience major at Belmont University, is taking an animal behavior class which requires her to spend time at the zoo doing behavior research on different animals.  

Ziebell first saw Hamish on the news and couldn’t wait to visit him in person.  

“I think Hamish is a great addition to the Nashville Zoo. Highland cows in America are not super common and Nashville’s zoo is a conservation zoo that is dedicated to ensuring animals are well cared for, and I think that’s a wonderful place for Hamish to be,” said Ziebell. 

Unlike the mothers, Evan White, president of the Southern Highland Cattle Association, is not a fan of Hamish being at the Nashville Zoo, or any zoo for that matter.  

“It is extremely unfortunate and disheartening to learn that Hamish, the Highland cow, is at the Nashville Zoo. Unfortunately, ‘bottle baby’ calves can have stunted development and have long-term health issues if not properly cared for by a reputable breeder,” said White in a written statement.  

White also expressed the need for Highland cows to live with other Highlands, which the Nashville Zoo lacks.  

 “Highlands are very social animals and typically do not do well alone. We share a concern that Hamish may not properly educate people on the breed creating further situations where animals are neglected or taken from their mothers too soon,” said White. “Zoos should be educating the public on animals creating an interest and admiration instead of having an animal for ‘cute content’ on social media. We truly hope other zoos do not follow suit.” 

Hamish is moooving toward being the most famous Highland cow on the internet and he’s right in Nashville's backyard.  

But should he be?  

Or is it just too hard to make everyone happy?  

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This article was written by Bree Fabbie