KEEPERS by Michele Winstanley

A city zoo faces closure. Like the apes in their care, five keepers struggle with conflicting needs for status, control, and affection. Derek, close to retirement, strives to maintain his position in a changing world. Second-in-command, Maggie, cares more about animals than the humans she works with. As the zoo prepares for a special visit from a potential benefactor, a baby is born in the chimp group. Derek makes a decision which incenses Maggie, and all hell breaks loose in the ape house.
Keepers is a blisteringly funny and sharply astute look at the behind-the-scenes world of a city zoo; where a keeper’s ranking is measured by the size of the animals in his care; where decisions about life and death are made away from prying eyes; and where – when idealism and real life clash – a question is raised: who is looking after whom?