I think part of it was for sure loving the animals but the more insidious part is, like, where else would she have gone? Her whole life was that zoo, it was a her job and her home. Joe Exotic did the same thing as Doc Antle but instead of young naive girls who wanted to play with tiger cubs he chose people that had no options, the man had them believing getting first pick at dumpster meat was a blessing.
Did you notice how at all the other zoos there were maintenance workers everywhere, building, fixing enclosures, whacking weeds but at Millionaire Murderer Carole’s everything looks dirty and busted? She’s already rich, charges 50$ a head at her little ghetto ass zoo, and she won’t even hire professionals to do yard work.