A commentary by PCSSM Associate Director Heather Kostick
Heather Kostick
Heather Kostick is the Associate Director of PCSSM and a PhD Candidate in Environmental Science at Drexel University.
Recently, the Nashville Zoo has made headlines for opposing the proposed data center that would be built near animal habitats. The zoo had planned to eventually buy part of the land for a future education and conservation center. In addition to concerns of other environmental impacts, the question of noise pollution from data centers and other impacts on the zoo animals has come up. But what does this research say? How loud are data centers? How are wildlife and zoo animals impacted by noise pollution?
Before we get to the noise pollution from data centers, let’s first explore WHY they are noisy. Data centers are the physical infrastructure for housing networked computer servers, data storage drives, and other networking equipment. Data centers are not new – the first one was built at Penn in 1945 and housed the ENIAC, the first programmable electronic digital computer. That first data center has involved to a range of data centers that house everything from basic technology needs to the hyperscale data centers that are causing such a fuss because of their need for large amounts energy and water, and the negative environmental impacts. The source of noise from data centers is their cooling systems, rumbling from generators, and whirring of cooling fans. Although we’re focusing on noise here, it’s important to note that data centers also contribute to light and air pollution, as well as, water waste (Gour, Ortiz, and Maibach 2026).
Noise pollution from data centers is having negative impacts on people. The noise created by the cooling systems can include sleep disturbance, and negative impacts to cardiovascular health, cognitive health, and mental health impact (Gour, Ortiz, & Maibach 2026). Data centers also often exceed the EPA-recommended noise limits.
Data centers contribute to local noise pollution through their cooling systems, backup diesel generators, and other machinery (Judge 2022). Operating 24/7, data centers in Virginia generate a persistent humming noise, described as an industrial-scale ‘drone’ or ‘hum’ similar to amplified house air conditioning, with levels ranging between 40 and 59 decibels [JLARC 2024]. While the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends a 24-h average outdoor noise limit of 55 dBA (day–night average) or 45 dBA indoors to protect public health (EPA 1974), data center operations in residential areas often approach or exceed these thresholds.
When looking at anecdotal evidence and complaints from the public about noise pollution, the information is abundant. You can find posts across social media and websites demonstrating how people feel about the nuisance. Many people will post videos of the data centers humming and vibrating, and class action lawsuits are popping up. A class action lawsuit has been filed by residents of Vineland, NJ because they say that the “constant humming sound” from a new AI data center is disrupting their lives. Another one was filed in Mississippi where residents are suing xAI and SpaceX over the noise from the data center and power plant alleging a “diminished quality of life”. It’s clear that noise pollution from data centers is an increasing problem for many communities.
Often when noise pollution comes up in relation to wildlife, it is often whales and other marine mammals that are thought of since they can’t avoid noise produced by ships. It’s been found that noise pollution negatively impacts whale behavior, migration, and song since vessel noise can drown out or distort acoustic communication between animals (Croll et al. 2001; Rossi-Santos 2015; Wang et al. 2021; NOAA 2022; Johnston and Painter 2024). Or perhaps you have thought of the birds in urban environments? Although some bird species are more tolerant of noise due to adapting to urban environments, noise can impact reproductive success and community composition in birds (Francis et al. 2009; Perillo et al. 2017; Dooling et al. 2019; Morelli et al. 2023).
Even in areas that are supposed to be protected, wildlife is exposed to noise pollution (Buxton et al. 2017). Researchers found that anthropogenic noise doubled background sound levels in 63% of protected areas and in some cases 10-times or greater the background noise in 21% of protected areas (Buxton et al. 2017). Recent research suggests that noise pollution needs to be considered in conservation planning since specialist species are disproportionately impacted by noise pollution (Ditmer et al. 2021).
When it comes to noise pollution and wildlife, zoo animals may not be the first thought that comes to mind. While the animals in zoo are considered wild and definitely not domesticated, they are in an artificial habitat where their needs are largely met. Zoos are often in urban areas where they can have the maximum impact and exposure to the public, and that means that the zoo animals are also exposed to the characteristics of urban life including light, noise, and air pollution. While noise pollution is a fairly new topic in peer-reviewed research, it is becoming increasingly relevant and important as places become more urbanized and now with the data center boom.
How does noise pollution impact zoo animals? Quadros et al. (2014) documented that while there was no significant trends in overall animal behavior with increased noise pollution, but that at the individual animal level, there were behavioral changes. Individual animals increased vigilance behavior with higher sound levels and approximately one third of individuals increased their movements.
In looking at construction noise in an urban zoo, it was found that when exposed to construction noise, animal behavior demonstrated potential agitation or stress (Jakob-Hoff et al. 2019). In this particular study, Jakob-Hoff et al. (2019) exposed animals (elephants, giraffes, alligators, emus) to three noise conditions: ambient sounds, continuous construction noise, and intermittent construction noise. They found that there were behavioral changes when exposed to both intermittent and continuous construction noise and that overall there was overall increase in animal movement and changes in behavior during noise exposure. For example, elephants moved to quieter areas when exposed to continuous noise, but had some tolerance of intermittent noise.
Additional research has been done on noise pollution and animal welfare in zoos (Orban et al. 2017; Steinbrecher et al. 2023; Marques et al. 2025). It’s a fairly newer area of research within animal welfare and husbandry so the sample sizes are small (not uncommon in a zoo with a few individuals of a species) and many studies call for additional research. Perhaps zoos with species in common can coordinate on studies to increase their sample sizes and study possibilities – an issue to discuss for another time.
So what does this mean for the animals at the Nashville Zoo? We know that data centers create noise – loud noise – and that wildlife (including zoo animals) are bothered by noise pollution. In addition to losing land to expand their educational and conservation reach, it means an impact to animal welfare. Zoos like the Nashville Zoo that are AZA-accredited also are always aiming to improve zoo animal welfare through habitat upgrades, high quality diets, and high quality enrichment for animal health. A data center could also endanger their ability to continually improve animal welfare and contribute to conservation research.
Zoos are important resources for the public by providing opportunities for connection with nature and wildlife that people might not otherwise have. Often zoos are also involved in important conservation and biodiversity research. The oldest zoo in the U.S. – Philadelphia Zoo – is known for their work with golden lion tamarins and the Rodrigues fruit bat, but they also participate in more local studies including the American Turtle SAFE program and works with the local community organization Mantua Civic Association to serve as a pollinator corridor. Similarly, at the Nashville Zoo, over 35 clouded leopard cubs (native to tropical and subtropical southeast Asia) have been born at the zoo since 2009. As of 2020, clouded leopards are listed as vulnerable and decreasing in the wild according to the IUCN redlist due to deforestation for palm oil and illegal wildlife trafficking. The Nashville Zoo has also been actively involved in conservation of the endangered hellbender, North America’s largest amphibian, since 2003 and has helped raise dozens of hellbenders to be released back into the wild. These are drops in the bucket of the conservation work that zoos are involved in.
Not only would a data center next to the Nashville Zoo create noise pollution and impact the resident zoo animals, but would potentially impact the important conservation work that they actively facilitate. With nearly 400,000 signatures on Change.org, it’s clear that many people do not support the building of this data center next to the Nashville Zoo. While the focus of this commentary has been impacts on the potential impacts to zoo animals, it’s important to remember the wildlife is out there already being impacted by existing and under construction data centers. Data centers currently largely exist in urban environments right now, but many of the new and planned data centers are targeted in rural communities. Some data center plans are also for more suburban areas – like the one proposed in Upper Merion Township, PA that would be nearly double the size of the King of Prussia Mall – the largest shopping mall in PA and fourth-largest in the U.S.
Concerned about data centers where you live or in places you care about? Get involved in your town or city, and attend council meetings. These regulations are largely happening at the local level as state and federal regulators struggle to keep up with the demand from businesses and balance it with the concerns and protests from communities. Data center regulation is quickly becoming a mid-term election issue that could sway voters depending on how politicians respond to this demand.