Zoo Tales Q&A: with author and zookeeper Danni Rae

 For the final day of BIAZA Zoo Tales (and World Book Day) we spoke to Danni Rae, author and zookeeper at Wellington Zoo.  

We are also thrilled to be giving away a copy of Danni's book this week (2.3.23). Enter via social media posts -  [Facebook link], [Instagram link]. 

Could you introduce yourself and your book?

Originally from the Hunter Valley, NSW Australia, I now live and work in New Zealand. I have been Zookeeping for 13 years with the honour of caring for a wide variety of species in that time and being involved in several field conservation projects in both NZ and Madagascar.

Kara the Kakapo is my first published children’s picture book and the first in a planned series of animal and conservation-based stories.

Kara the Kakapo can’t quite seem to master the art of flying. But with optimism, determination and a little creative thinking, Kara hatches a plan to fulfil her dream!

Conservation also required optimism, determination and quite a lot of creative thinking and this story introduces children to these concepts through the experiences of one of NZ’s most endangered species in the hope that they may convey them into their own life and adventures.

They say writing children’s books is really difficult, how did you go about it? What was your process like?

I had the initial concept for a book series that focused on endangered species/conservation messaging many years ago but had not found the right character for this story. After moving to NZ and discovering a large, flightless, nocturnal, endangered parrot I knew that Kakapo were exactly what I had been waiting for.

For a book designed to be ‘short and sweet’, bedtime story length the rhyming structure and conveying the messages I hoped with the challenge of a smaller word count took quite a while and MANY revisions. It was a project I chipped away at over a period of time and finally had a manuscript I was happy with. Then came the even bigger challenge of actually publishing it!

For children’s picture books the illustrations are obviously absolutely critical to supporting the story and really bringing the characters to life. Evan Heasman (aka Soju_shots) is a New Zealand artist who really rose to the challenge when I provided a creative brief that included “vibrant and eye-catching” but also a nocturnal setting.   

I was lucky enough to find Little Love Publishing and they really supported me through the entire process. I was hiking Te Araroa fundraising for wildlife conservation at the time (For all of you non-kiwi’s this is a 3000km thru-hike from Cape Reinga in the north of NZ to Bluff in the south. Yes, you read that right, 3000km) and I could only reply to emails or calls when I found a mountain ridge high enough to get reception of popped into a town to re-supply…

But in the end a large number of boxes arrived and I had the dissonant emotions of joy that this story was no longer just in my head but in tangible form, and trepidation…what if no one likes it?

Could you tell us a little about your role as a zookeeper? Any favourite animals?

As a Zookeeper I am responsible for the positive welfare of all species in my care. From their habitats, nutrition and daily health management to training and enrichment. I also have the pleasure of sharing these amazing species with our visitors and helping them to make connections and learn about not only the individual animals but also how important they are to the world around us and how we can assist their wild counterparts through our choices and actions.

I have worked with many species over the years and have far too many favourites to list them all, but some of my personal highlights involved working with Lemurs, American Alligators, Maned Wolf, Sunbear, Lions and Tasmanian Devils. Each individual has their own distinct personality and whether I’m watching a baby lemur learn to climb for the first time or seeing the ‘water dance’ of a bellowing Alligator they constantly find new ways to inspire and surprise me.

How does writing and zookeeping integrate for you?

One of my favourite parts of my role as a zookeeper is to help children (and big kids too) connect to animals and the environment, through this book I hope to be able to inspire them at home as well. I also LOVE reading. To write a children’s picture book was a way to combine both passions.

Which animals would you like to write about in the future?

All of them!!! While this is not a realistic goal the next planned books focus on some more specific conservation challenges with characters such as a Hermit Crab, Tamarin and Chameleon.

It's great that you’re giving an endangered species the spotlight, are there any other animals under threat you wish more people were aware of?

Unfortunately so many species are now under threat and a lot of the time it is the big mega fauna that stand out in peoples minds. Whilst they are also very important I would like to place some focus on some of the smaller or less well-known species that are either listed as threatened or impacted through damage to their environment like anemone, bees, tamarins and pangolin. 

What can we do to help children feel inspired and hopeful about conservation?

I think the most important thing is for kids to be empowered and knowing that there are loads of ways to help- you can start at home in your own backyard and make it a haven for wildlife. Getting involved with community groups is great, and there are local community groups you can join to help with beach-cleaning or tree planting. If you can’t find one in your area, get your friends and family together. If you have your own idea don’t be afraid to get it out there either – the best thing will be lots of people doing lots of little things!

And finally, do you have advice for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps as a writer or zookeeper?

Firstly, I would say you can have more than one dream so as long as you are willing to put in the work, go for it! You can learn a lot from animals and there are so many different paths to explore so don’t ever feel like you can only do one or the other.

If you are interested in zookeeping start volunteering with animals (there is a lot more hard work/cleaning and a lot less playing with animals than you might expect) but you also have the opportunity to forge connections with some pretty incredible species.

As for being an author, WRITE, it doesn’t have to be perfect when you start, just keep writing, keep reading and keep learning until you are ready to share your stories with the world.

You can check out Danni's website at danniraebooks.com/en-gb or follow her for book updates on Instagram or Facebook