A ride around the zoo in a buggy proves it.

Driving past the dingo enclosure, Ms Russell calls them by their names: "good girl Kora, good boy Ponto".

The dingos immediately hop to their feet and watch her go past.

A walk past the black-capped capuchin monkeys and Coco and Soochi jump on the fence to greet Ms Russell.

"It’s easier to ask what aren’t my favourite animals … the ostrich chase me which is a bit scary, I still like them but from a distance."

Ms Russell admits she probably wouldn't be able to name all the fish in the aquarium.

Twenty years ago, she received a phone call from her dad, Richard Tindale, who told her he wanted to buy a zoo.

Ms Russell, then 23, was living in South Australia, working in the hospitality industry.

"I have always loved animals and had worked in pet shops from when I was 13 to 18 years of age," Ms Russell said.

"When my dad called and asked if I would come home if he bought a sanctuary that had gone into receivership I thought it was incredibly exciting and said of course I was coming home."

The National Aquarium opened in Canberra in May 1990, but the venture was never completed and by August that year it went on the market. In March 1991 the aquarium was put in receivership.

In 1992 a Canberra businessman bought the property and added outdoor exhibits and made changes to meet the demands of tourists wanting an "Australian experience". The name changed to the National Aquarium and Australian Wildlife Sanctuary in 1993.

The Tindale family took over in 1998 and renamed it the National Zoo and Aquarium in 2000.

"Dad being a local businessman with a passion for animals wanted to see that the animals were taken care of and ensure that Canberra kept their wildlife park," Ms Russell said.

"Most of us kids were also keen to make the run-down and struggling wildlife park into what it is now, an amazing conservation and educational-based zoo with lovely habitats and amazing passionate keepers and staff for the animals."

What started out with seven full-time keepers, a record keeper, five reception and gift shop staff, and a few managers has expanded to 191 permanent and casual staff members.

"Walking through the National Aquarium and Australian Wildlife Sanctuary back then was a lot different to what you see now," Ms Russell said.

"There was the aquarium with the 1.5 million litre tunnel that many Canberrans remember and there even was boomerang throwing and sheep shearing.

"At the time, my brothers Andrew and Ryan, sister Sharron and I all got started, we all worked long days and seven days a week."

In 2000 a number of retired circus animals including lions, tigers, leopards, bears and a pair of "tigons", a purpose-bred hybrid between a lion and tiger, joined the zoo.

Between 2001 and 2003 the zoo battled two separate Canberra bush fires that destroyed the surrounding pine forest. In 2003,  the zoo took in 'Lucky' - the only surviving koala from the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve bushfires.

The bushfires also saw puppies that were rescued from the RSPCA in Weston temporarily relocated to the zoo. The puppies were in a cage in the lions' den, with Kimba the lion in another.

In 2014, Jamala Wildlife Lodge, an on-site overnight accommodation development, was opened. Last year, the zoo officially opened its new open range section, which tripled the zoo's size.

Ms Russell said the zoo started with 10 mammal species, eight reptiles species, 31 types of birds and "lots of fish".

Today, the zoo has 42 species of mammals, reduced its types of birds to 20, increased its reptiles to 23 species and added amphibians. Ms Russell says there are still "lots of fish".

Twenty years later, Ms Russell is still working full-time at the zoo as the life sciences manager.

"Apart from my partner and my family, the zoo is everything to me," Ms Russell said.

"Some of the animals have been here as long as, or nearly as long, as I have. They get to know you and come over to see you which is really special."

On Sunday, the National Zoo and Aquarium celebrated its 20th birthday in the Tindale family, celebrating two decades of conservation, Ms Russell said.

"Educating visitors on wildlife and environmental conservation is super important, we give our visitors a lovely time looking at our incredible residents and they go home with conservation messages they have learnt throughout their visit and an empathy for animals that they may not have had before," she said.

Earlier this year, the zoo made headlines across the country after the introduction of its newest cheetah cub, Solo. The cubs unlikely friendship with best friend Zama, a border collie/Belgian malinois cross initially turned some heads.

Ms Russell said she felt privileged to be in a career that she loved and hoped to be in for the next 20 years.

"I’m sure many of the staff would say the same, without sounding too corny, we are a big zoo family here."