Long before the gates open each day, the Brookfield Zoo hoofstock team is already deep into a race against the clock. Keepers haul feed totes, scrub habitats, and carefully check each animal. For Nancy Kauffman, who directs the team, this early rush is where the day’s foundation is laid.
“Everything we do in those first few hours sets the tone for the animals and for us,” Kauffman says. “By the time visitors arrive, the animals should be fed, comfortable, and settled. That doesn’t happen by accident.”
A Morning Built on Precision
The routine starts with reviewing records, rather than with physical labor. Keepers begin by reviewing the previous day’s notes in ZIMS, a database shared among accredited zoos for tracking animal data and coordinating transfers…