In recent Hanna appearances, frightened leopard cubs were seen panting, growling, and clinging to Diane Sawyer’s head, and a wolf showed obvious signs of excessive thirst. Besides causing unnecessary stress to baby animals by prematurely tearing them away from their mothers, carting them across the country, and subjecting them to studio lights, transport crates, crowds, and other aspects of an unnatural, alien environment, these exhibits perpetuate then recent Hanna appearances, frightened leopard cubs were seen panting, growling, and clinging to Diane Sawyer’s head, and a wolf showed obvious signs of excessive thirst. Besides causing unnecessary stress to baby animals by prematurely tearing them away from their mothers, carting them across the country, and subjecting them to studio lights, transport crates, crowds, and other aspects of an unnatural, alien environment, these exhibits perpetuate the notion that exotic animals are desirable pets. Hanna’s treatment of dangerous, exotic animals as pets has caused injuries to at least two children. One of Hanna’s "pet" lions bit off the arm of a 3-year-old, and a chimpanzee taken by Hanna to a church bit off part of a 5-year-old girl’s finger. Hanna is no friend to animals. Some of Hanna’s animal suppliers have very poor records of animal care, including Ohio facility that has been cited repeatedly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for mistreating primates, keeping animals in filthy cages, and failing to provide minimum space to animals. Hanna publicly supported dove hunting in Ohio, and in 1992, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association suspended Jack Hanna’s and the Columbus Zoo’s accreditation for a year because of ethics violations, i.e., importing a panda in defiance of a moratorium. o read PETA’s letters to Good Morning America officials requesting that they visit an accredited sanctuary rather than hosting a wildlife pimp on their show."
SourceWhen animal expert Jack Hanna visits New Bedford on Sunday with his animals, keep an eye out for the three-banded armadillo.
It might be Dave.
All of Hanna's animals have names. That particular armadillo is named after talk-show host David Letterman, on whose desk it was conceived during a classic — and blush-worthy — visit in 2005.
Hanna, who has appeared on the show four times a year for the past 24 years, had brought on a male and female armadillo that zoo officials were hoping to breed. And things heated up right there on Letterman's desk. At least it was late-night TV.
"Dave was born about six months later," says Hanna, who had promised to name any offspring of the mating after Letterman.
During another Letterman show, he says, one of the worst fights he ever saw on TV broke out between two beavers. "I almost lost my thumb," Hanna recalls.
It's not that Letterman is the Jerry Springer of the animal world — he actually loves critters — it's that working with wild animals is unpredictable.
"A wild animal is like a loaded gun. It can go off at any time," Hanna says. "I use the word respect when I film animals. You go into their world. It's like someone coming into your home. We try not to be intrusive."
Hanna's high-definition children's television series, "Into the Wild," at 8 a.m. Saturdays on Fox, brings him into contact with animals around the world in their natural habitats. Today's technology allows the camera to capture shots that make viewers feel they are in the Serengeti or on the Australian plain.
The zoologist also uses cameras in the 110 to 120 live shows he does each year. State and federal laws prohibit people from handling the wild animals, but cameras show close-ups to theatergoers.
His talks are geared to be fun and educational. Not only does he show off the animals, he points out strange survival relationships, such as how the herding dog is saving the cheetah in Africa. The dogs keep sheep and cattle together so cheetah can't pick off stragglers. That means farmers don't have to shoot the big cats to protect their livestock, Hanna explains.
At Ohio's Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, where Hanna became director emeritus in 1992 after 14 years of running day-to-day operations, education is wrapped in layers of fun: Families learn how the giraffe has the same number of vertebrae in its neck as a human, and the elephant's trunk has an amazing 30,000 muscles.
"The No. 1 priority of the zoo is education. If a person is not educated, you cannot have conservation," Hanna says.
The Columbus Zoo financially supports 45 conservation efforts around the world, from protecting sea turtles to paying health-insurance premiums for Rwandan workers helping to save gorillas there. Hanna, who has a home in Rwanda, works with children at two schools there to stress the importance of protecting local animals and their habitat.
"Rwanda is the size of Vermont. Vermont has something like 620,000 people. Rwanda has 8.5 million," Hanna says. "It's something no one wants to talk about, but the No. 1 problem in the world is overpopulation. It's the common factor in global warming, loss of fresh water, loss of habitat ..."
Hanna, 62, says he is optimistic that the environment has a fighting chance now because young people worldwide are more aware of environmental needs. Steps like harnessing wind energy and recycling will be a stopgap to keep things from getting worse, he says, until overpopulation is addressed.
Hanna's youngest daughter, Julie, has chosen to work with animals and often fosters needy babies at home. Not surprising since she grew up with, at various times, snow leopards, a camel in the kitchen, and lots of kangaroos jumping around the house.
Hanna developed his lifelong love of animals as a young person working at a veterinarian's office. He is amazed at the burgeoning interest in learning about animals: When he started televising "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures" in 1991, there were three shows about wildlife. Now, there are more than 40 and a network devoted to animals.
In addition to his own productions and live shows, Hanna brings animals to eight national TV shows — including "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "Good Morning America," although he never worked with Johnny Carson as many people think.
And if Hanna could be an animal for a day?
"I have an affinity for elephants, but I'd be a hippo because they just lay around, stand in the water and eat. That would be nice.""
I have never liked this man. He always acts like he knows everything but you can tell he doesn't. He even thinks he's funny and he's not. In my opinion he puts everyone in danger every time he brings an animal around them.Those poor animals having to go up under all those lights with all of those people in a strange environment. I heard many people say how cold it is on the Letterman show too so the animals must be cold also. A sure sign that Hanna doesn't really care about them. He's a jerk in my book. Go away and make money somewhere else.
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