Kara Bussabarger wrote a mission statement for herself a few years ago, which said that her goal in life was to “bring love, joy and fulfillment to animals and people” around her. 

She only had pets at that point, but included animals in the statement, and now holds the position of PR Director for the Louisville Zoo. Ask and you shall receive.  

“I love the people and staff here at the zoo,” says Kara. “My job is PR but I love being around the animals and would even volunteer on the weekends when I first started to get to know the staff and keepers so that I could tell their stories with real passion and understanding. My job is about relationships — with the keepers, the media and the community at large.”

And she has a job that mostly puts out good news. Take Scotty, the elephant. With only six elephant births in the U.S. last year, his was one and he was the recipient of a Make A Wish Foundation’s child wish from a little girl in Kansas who wanted to meet him.

If you live in Louisville you probably already know these things, as they were covered in the media. But a few things you might not know if you haven’t been to the zoo lately is that the gorilla, Timmy, is the oldest male gorilla in all of North America; there are reverse ATM’s at exhibit sites at the zoo to give money to conservation groups; you can start volunteering at age 13 working with the keepers; and it’s best to get to the zoo early when animals are most active.

That’s a good tip if you think your six-year-old will wonder why the animals are sleeping if you get there in the afternoon. Kara says the animals also perk up again in the evening . . . so go early and make a whole day and night of it.