Hitting the high notes: from opera to zookeeping - Love Your Zoo 2026 Blog

This Love Your Zoo week, we're focussing on the journeys of the inspirational people who make zoos and conservation thrive. Next is Lizzy Humphries, Head Keeper at Battersea Park Children's Zoo:

If, at the start of 2020 you’d told me I’d now be a zookeeper, I’d have thought you were mad, as I was very happy freelancing as a professional classical singer. I enjoyed the exhilaration of being asked last minute to hop on trains and planes to sing somewhere new and exciting. I loved recordings, live broadcasts, concerts in huge halls, and the novelty of strange gigs for the royal, rich and famous. I was satisfied having achieved the life I had worked for since I first sang in a choir at 5 years old. 

In September 2019, I spontaneously decided to try a day volunteering at Vauxhall City Farm. I’d become aware that a singing career benefitted me more than anyone else and thought some time doing something different would be good for me. I’d no background in animal care but decided to give it a go anyway. 

I thought a day volunteering would scratch an itch, but 6 years later I often think back to that first day. I imagine what life would have been without it, but think also of the complete revelation I had, standing in a stable, with no idea how to muck it out, realising I had found something that suited me down to the straw on the ground.

I’ve learned not to fear change. Without the Covid pandemic, I doubt I’d have been brave enough to drop a singing career and start back at the beginning as a zookeeper, but lockdown meant that I was effectively unemployed overnight. I’d gone from having a full singing diary, to having absolutely nothing. I threw myself into anything and everything, making and selling face masks on Etsy, delivery driving, online teaching and carrying on volunteering at Vauxhall City Farm. I was extremely fortunate to be offered some paid work in mid-2020 which motivated me to sign up to an FdSc course. 

At college I became fascinated with the depth of the zoo industry and its endless opportunities to create change in an unexplored avenue. When a seasonal role came up at Battersea Park Children’s Zoo in 2021, it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. I wasn’t convinced I had enough experience for the role, but have learned from a singing career that it’s an employer’s job to decide if you are right for a role, not yours. Present your best self and see what happens. 

I thought I’d do the 6 month role then go back to singing, but I didn’t account for being completely addicted to the place. I was delighted to be asked to stay on full time, starting the biggest learning curve of my professional life. I was in a new industry, desperate to ensure that my lack of experience didn’t hold me back. I spent my days off going to college, workshops, and the Lake District for lambing seasons, desperate to gain as many skills in as short a time as possible.

Shortly after being offered the full time job, the senior keeper role came up. Again, I applied hesitantly, knowing it would be a huge jump in the early stages of my career. Much to my surprise I was offered the job. 5 years on and now Head Keeper, I’d never recommend taking on a senior role in your first year of zookeeping, nor suggest that I found the progression remotely easy, but my life was made easier by a kind, patient and encouraging team.

BPCZ is a passion project. Keepers are responsible for everything, from husbandry to talks, experiences, leaf blowing, enclosure design and gardening. This shared responsibility for the entire zoo enables every individual to be a part of significant developments, with almost no red tape. There is space to have an idea and take it wherever you want it to go. #ShareSavvy is a prime example of that. We intended to create a one off social media post to help our visitors navigate content on social media which may negatively impact animal welfare and conservation. It was a direct response to what I was seeing from visitors as a keeper, and the autonomous nature of our team meant I could have our first tool, the flow chart, posted from our zoo account within a few hours of the idea. The response was beyond all expectations and #ShareSavvy is reaching audiences across the world. I’m fortunate to feel I’ve found a small way to make a difference for animals.

Whenever someone asks me what I do for work, I warn them that it isn’t a simple answer. I’m a zookeeper, run #ShareSavvy and continue working as a singer. Life feels unusual but an awful lot of fun. I hope my strange journey shows it’s never too late for something new. Take every opportunity; you never know where it leads. 

-  Lizzy Humphries, Head Keeper, Battersea Park Children's Zoo

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not necessarily a reflection of BIAZA's position