Originally from the far east, mimcrees have been domesticated and controlled by the government for centuries due to their unique ability to shapeshift into any animal within their line of sight. This replication has been confirmed to be accurate down to a molecular level and tests have shown that almost every animal cannot tell the difference between a shapeshifted mimcree and the real thing.

Although most people aren't aware of mimcrees, many people see them every day at zoos, where zookeepers typically rent a herd of mimcrees from the government to stand in for rarer species the zoo could otherwise only afford one of. Public grants make the rental fees of mimcrees more accessible, but zoos that choose to rent any shapeshifters must hire an official handler to make sure they don't get loose, or else they might never be seen again.