Spring Break
The Daily OrangeAnimal expert shares wild life
By Amanda Allison
Posted: 2/12/08, 12:42 AM EST Section: Feature
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Hanna, after arriving in Rwanda, along with two of his daughters and wife, trekked through two miles of potato fields and climbed a mountain to spend just 60 minutes with 14 of the 630 remaining mountain gorillas left in the world.
"It was one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life and in my career," Hanna said in the video clip, a preview of what is to come on his new show, "Into the Wild with Jack Hanna."
"To get to be with my family while witnessing such a sight - these 3,000-pound gorillas only two feet away from me - and to get to share that moment was incredible."
It is this idea of exposing true nature to the masses that Hanna has fashioned his career around. At his event Monday night, between video clips highlighting milestones in his 35-year career as an animal expert and blooper reels from "The Late Show with David Letterman," Hanna showcased some of the rarest animals in the world.
All this for the sake of educating a room full of elementary school kids, college students and retired grandparents about the world and their place in it.
"We as humans can learn a lot about life from animals," Hanna told the audience. "We shouldn't use the phrase 'behaving like an animal' as a negative, because often times they know more than we do."
More than 20 animals were in Goldstein Auditorium, ranging from a swift fox, serval cat (a creature depicted in Egyptian art as early as 3000 B.C.), kookaburra, lemur, pure-blooded dingo (as most dingos have now bred with domesticated dogs to produce a mixed species), hyrax (though the size of a guinea pig, cited as the closest living relative to elephants) and one of only 320 remaining clouded leopards.
Hanna has spent his career attempting to educate people on the importance of species preservation and protection. One of the last of four videos shown was a five-minute feature on Anna Merz, a woman who in 1982 used her life-savings to purchase land in Kenya to build a black rhino sanctuary. Hanna toured the heavily guarded facility and showcased it - and Merz's contribution to endangered-animal conservation - to discuss the world's responsibility to protect its animals.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Melanie Stopyra
posted 2/12/08 @ 9:54 AM EST
Hi think it's wonderful that Jack Hannah is traveling the world to spread the message of preserving what wildlife we have left. If anyone wants to help make a difference, they should fill out the European Union survey to help ban the annual Canadian baby seal hunt
at: http://www. (Continued…)
Julie
posted 2/12/08 @ 6:25 PM EST
Gday
Just a short note to advise on the current state of the dingo.
I have just read the article in the Daily Orange, on the internet, and was impressed by Jack Hanna's concern for the dingo. (Continued…)
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