飼育員

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: Written 飼育員 and read しいくいん, it denotes a staff member responsible for feeding animals and managing their health and enclosures.
• Basic usage: It is used for a keeper preparing food and explaining an enclosure to visiting children.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Keeper rather than owner
  • The word describes a professional role at a zoo or facility, not simply a person who owns an animal.