Ask the Expert: Zookeeper Tom Brown

Tom Brown has been a zookeeper with the Detroit Zoological Society for nearly 29 years. He often works out of the Zoo’s commissary, preparing healthy and nutritious meals for the animals who call the Zoo home.

What do you do at the Detroit Zoo?

I’ve been in animal care my entire time at the Zoo. Right now, I’m assigned to the commissary, so I do a lot of food prep and delivery. I prep the produce as it arrives and package up all the frozen meat and fish. All of us in the commissary work together to deliver the food and ensure it gets to the animals who call the Zoo home. I also do certain animal feedings. I do giraffe feeds, some food-based sea otter training and things like that.

How did you get involved in animal care?

I think I’ve pretty much always wanted to be a zookeeper. When I was a kid, my mom and dad took us to see relatives with animals, so we fed chickens and cows a lot. In later years, that translated to going to Michigan State University and studying biology. After I graduated, I ended up here at the Zoo, and I’ve been here ever since.

What is your favorite part of your job?

It’s all interesting. The variety, I would say, is my favorite thing. Whenever you are working with animals, there is a tremendous variety in your job because you are not just working with people’s personalities — you are also working with animals’ personalities. My job always changes from day to day.

Do you have a favorite animal to work with?

Whoever is cooperating the most — and that changes from moment to moment. Good behavior is a good friend.

Do you have any advice for young people hoping to enter the animal care field?

Everyone in zookeeping wants to work with animals, but many other skills come into play when working with animals. You have to understand how machines work, how heating and cooling work, and how to work with other people — animal care is a team sport. Keep an open mind and be ready to learn all kinds of skills.