It takes a lot of people to keep Cincinnati — and all of its vibrant scenes — running smoothly. In each installment of Queen City Clock-In, we’ll take a look at a day in the life of the people who help the Queen City thrive.
Meet Shae Burns, Manager of Wild Encounters at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. On June 20, CityBeat shadowed Burns as she went about some of her day-to-day responsibilities at this iconic Cincinnati attraction.
7:15 a.m. – Shae Burns and her husband hit the road from Miamisburg.
8:15 a.m. – Upon arriving at her office, Burns checks her voicemail and the Encounters & Chats schedule for the day ahead — a vibrantly multicolored spreadsheet matching her team members to certain animals and spaces in the zoo. Burns oversees a team of approximately 25-30 staff members and 15 volunteers.
During this time, Burns determines any needed adjustments to the schedule, possibly accounting for staff members who might have called in sick or animals who aren’t in a position to leave their habitat that day.
8:30 a.m. – Burns’ team convenes and touches base about the day ahead. The team is informed of any special considerations, such as path closures, and picks up the gear they need, from hand sanitizer to keys.
Today’s a particularly special day. The annual Zoo La La event is happening later this evening, and Burns and her team will be facilitating animal encounters at one of the zoo’s biggest fundraisers.
8:50 a.m. – Burns’ team begins opening some zoo exhibitions, including Roo Valley. In the mornings, Burns will sometimes do animal-focused interviews with local news outlets.
10:15 a.m. – In an employees-only space, Burns opens up a fridge and begins divvying up romaine lettuce for the giraffe feeding happening right outside. This lettuce is hydroponically grown on zoo grounds, where Burns’ husband works. The giraffe feeding begins at 9:30 a.m., and her team will usually see a morning rush of zoo members with early morning access. Burns is already getting the ball rolling on lettuce refills this morning following a usual second rush around 10.
After rinsing out lettuce containers, Burns stacks three buckets of lettuce and carries them outside, where stroller-pushing parents stand in line to hold out bunches of greens to waiting giraffes. Burns opens up a cooler in the encounter space, adds the buckets to the bunch and checks in with other team members.
10:40 a.m. – Burns makes her way to the P&G Discovery Forest to get ready for an encounter. She disappears behind a door marked “Education Animal Holding” and later exits with a blanket-covered crate.
10:50 a.m. – Burns sets the crate on a raised wooden platform near a busy walkway, where visitors stroll by on their way to habitats and exhibitions. Burns opens the crate, and out waddles Opal, a Virginia opossum and, in the words of Burns, “the most precious animal in the world.” Opal is just one of many critters that the zoo designates an “Ambassador Animal” — certain animals specifically meant to educate the public. Opal’s title carries a special weight due to opossums’ prominence in the area. Burns believes Opal helps people better appreciate a species locals may have misgivings about.
“I like when people get to meet animals that they could see in their backyard, especially animals that have a bad reputation or people are scared of,” Burns explains.
Opal is a rescue, and Burns shares a close bond with the opossum (Opal even made an appearance at Burns’ wedding). The zoo received Opal from an organization outside Toledo that rehabilitates wild animals. While Opal was already comfortable around people upon her arrival at the zoo as a result, Burns spent time toting Opal around in a pouch to get her used to the zoo’s many sights and sounds, from the excited chatter of summer campers to the train that runs through the space.
During this encounter, Opal toddles around the platform’s landings and branches, occasionally munching on the crickets that Burns offers. Passers-by gather as Burns shares facts about the marsupial species, from their sense of smell to misconceptions surrounding “playing dead.”
If she’s not running an animal encounter like this one, Burns will either be taking meetings, tackling work at her desk or bringing Animal Ambassadors to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. During “Wild Wednesdays,” Burns and these Animal Ambassadors will visit Seacrest Studios to participate in internal hospital broadcasts via WKID 33.
11:15 a.m. – Opal re-enters her crate, and Burns drops her back off at the Discovery Forest.
11:30 a.m. – Burns heads to her office. Dresses and jackets — presumably for the evening event ahead — hang on office doors throughout the workspace.
Burns’ office features a variety of zoo-themed memorabilia, including vintage postcards and pennants. Along with her team’s meticulously color-coded, day-to-day schedules, it’s here that Burns tackles the many emails she receives and writes scripts for the zoo’s Encounters & Chats. Burns also keeps information about the animals, such as Fiona and Fritz’s weight, as up-to-date as possible for her team to reference.
“ I like to tell people that in another life I was an English teacher,” Burns says.
In planning and facilitating encounters, Burns also accounts for each animal’s specific needs, including diet for feeding encounters and environments most comfortable for the Animal Ambassadors. She accounts for the pounds of lettuce each giraffe may consume, keeping in mind the portions of straw they’re also fed. If it’s too hot for Opal at an event, she may bring out a pancake tortoise or barn owl instead.
Burns works on finalizing details for Zoo La La, with a goal cut-off time of 2 p.m. to create a buffer should any last-minute changes or adjustments arise. Her afternoon will also usually involve a lunch break with some of her team members.
2 p.m. – Burns’ team begins closing certain encounter spaces and cleaning areas and equipment as needed. Burns remains on stand-by to pick up any tasks or “last-minute zoo things” that arise, such as an animal appearance at a company picnic. On certain Thursdays, she’ll help facilitate “Creature Connections” in partnership with the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, which gives patients and their families customized animal encounters. Otherwise, she’ll continue her desk-based work for the rest of the day as her team checks back in and sometimes attends an American Association of Zookeepers meeting, depending on the week.
5 p.m. – The zoo closes, but Burns admits that she and her husband often stick around for evening happenings at the zoo. Otherwise, she heads home for the day — ready for the traffic.
To learn more about the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, visit cincinnatizoo.org.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s July 9 print edition.
This article appears in Jul 9-22, 2025.