Pi explains that the art and science of zookeeping depends on getting animals accustomed to human presence. The main goal is to reduce an animal’s flight distance, the minimum space it wants to keep between itself and a perceived enemy.

Pi describes how flight distance varies widely by species and by the senses animals rely on to detect danger. He gives examples showing how different animals become tense or flee at different ranges, and how context matters, such as giraffes tolerating closer approach from a motor car than from a person on foot.

Pi then outlines the tools zookeepers use to diminish flight distance: knowledge of the animal, and the food, shelter, and protection provided in captivity. When these needs are met, the animal can become emotionally stable and stress-free, remain healthy, live long, eat reliably, behave naturally, and reproduce.

Pi contrasts his family’s zoo with famous international zoos but emphasizes that skill matters more than reputation. Pi’s father is portrayed as a natural zookeeper who compensates for limited formal training with intuition, keen observation, and attentiveness, and whose animals thrive and reproduce—sometimes more than expected.