Jack Hanna Chat

MODERATOR: We're getting ready for Jack Hanna—animal expert extraordinaire!—to join us here LIVE at nick.com's headquarters.

nickyapper: Jack has entered nick.com headquarters!!

MODERATOR: YAY!!!

nickyapper: Send your questions, NOW!!

nickyapper: He's here!!!

nickyapper: Say hi to Jack Hanna, everybody!!

MODERATOR: Jack, welcome and say hello to our guests here in nick.com's Blab-a-torium!!

Jack_Hanna: How you doin'!

Jack_Hanna: I hope everyone's doing well tonight!

Jack_Hanna: I hope everybody's taking care of their pets tonight...their cats, dogs...goldfish!

MODERATOR: So happy to have you here! Our first question of the night comes from nakiti!

MODMSG nakiti: I heard you began at the Central Florida Zoological Park. Is this true? If so, where did you go from there?

Jack_Hanna: Yes, it is true...

Jack_Hanna: I'm going there on Monday to do a big benefit for them.

Jack_Hanna: I started there in 1973 and from there in 1978 I became director of the Columbus Zoo in Columbus, Ohio.

Jack_Hanna: That was my first zoo director's job in Central Florida. As a matter of fact, I almost lost my finger to a 20 foot anaconda there!

MODERATOR: Our next one is from luv2run who also luvs to ask LONG questions

MODMSG luv2run: Jack, can you tell me a little about the episode where you wrestled alligators? I thought that was kind of cool and funny! And have you ever been seriously hurt by an animal?

Jack_Hanna: The crocodile hunter—he wrestles alligators. I have wrestled an alligator before...

Jack_Hanna: But what you may be referring to...I had a five foot crocodile in my hand...

nickyapper: Omigosh!!

Jack_Hanna: And it bit the end of a 60,000 dollar camera off!

Jack_Hanna: I had a beaver almost take my right thumb off on David Letterman.

nickyapper: Gee, lots of fingers....

nickyapper: But almost doesn't count....

MODERATOR: maryjo07 is wondering if she might be old enough to start getting into animals like you do :)

MODMSG maryjo07: Jack Hanna, when did you get into animals?

Jack_Hanna: When I was a little boy on a farm in Tennessee, outside of Knoxville...I was raised on a farm.

Jack_Hanna: And I always loved animals, like a lot of kids.

Jack_Hanna: At the age of 11 I worked for a vet...and I worked there until age 15.

Jack_Hanna: He was also the zoo vet and that's how I got my interest in being a zoo director.

Jack_Hanna: When I was 16 I knew I wanted to be a zoo director.

nickyapper: Wow—you have seen a LOT of animals!!

Jack_Hanna: The advice I have for young people is the fact if they want to be involved in the zoological business...

Jack_Hanna: It's not just education...you need to be involved in your zoo. They have zoo camps.

MODERATOR: :::subliminally chanting bird bird bird:::: our next question comes from caligirl13 :)

MODMSG caligirl13: What is his favorite animal?

Jack_Hanna: I have a lot of favorite animals. Elephants I think are very social, very intelligent creatures...

Jack_Hanna: The largest land mammal on earth, and I'm just fascinated by them.

nickyapper: Hippopotamus!!!

Jack_Hanna: However, I've raised a lot of cats, lions, tigers, a lot of primates...fish, parrots...I have pet cockroaches!

nickyapper: EWW!!!

Jack_Hanna: Every creature on Earth has its purpose...I don't care if it's a spider, a rattelsnake...every creature has a purpose.

Jack_Hanna: Every creature does something to keep our planet in cycle...to keep it moving, operating, tied together.

Jack_Hanna: If you think about it, 98% of all creatures on earth are insects...if you got rid of all the bees tomorrow, the human race could not live, because of pollination.

Jack_Hanna: We'd live without most of our food.

Jack_Hanna: So, all animals are my favorite animals.

MODERATOR: We received a LOT of mail for you at nick.com this week! Our first one tonight is...

MODMSG nickfrog: Why do YOU think that children today should learn about the animals in their environment and around the world?

Jack_Hanna: Young people must learn not just about animals but about our natural resources. What happens to our trees, our water, our air, our animals, will eventually happen to us.

Jack_Hanna: Animals are going extinct at an alarming rate, and we've got to turn that around.

Jack_Hanna: What happens to wildlife will eventually happen to us!

Jack_Hanna: One more thing...my generation did a lot of damage to the planet. But the young people today are actually saving the planet. They are doing a tremendous job...all of these kids online.

nickyapper: That is soooo true!!!

MODERATOR: ddexter has a creepy crawly question.

MODMSG ddexter99: I have a friend who thinks that tarantulas come after you if you yell. Is this true?

Jack_Hanna: I don't know much about spiders, but I think they go by motion, if you move.

Jack_Hanna: I don't know if they have ears...they move by motion.

Jack_Hanna: If you put an animal in a web, so a butterfly or something moves...and that motion takes the spider right to them.

Jack_Hanna: The spider hunts by a matter of motion.

Jack_Hanna: Some cats can feel the earth move even by a little animal...that's how they hunt—by the feeling on their feet.

MODERATOR: roolover is sitting up straight and asking...

MODMSG roolover: I've got a question! Why do dogs eat grass?

Jack_Hanna: Usually because their stomach's upset...

Jack_Hanna: My dog Ben...he'll go out and eat the grass, it makes him feel better.

Jack_Hanna: It's not because they're bored or hungry.

MODERATOR: genie316 is our marine animal lover :)

MODMSG genie316: Hey, Jack Hanna! Have you ever studied dolphins? If you have, can you tell me where else I can go to see a variety of them?

Jack_Hanna: Yes...I've done a lot of stories on dolphins over the years..

Jack_Hanna: Right now there's an outstanding place, Discovery Cove, in Orlando, right across from Sea World.

Jack_Hanna: To actually swim with and learn about them, you can do that in Orlando.

Jack_Hanna: That's the only place you can swim with dolphins in the United States.

MODERATOR: Our next question is again from the mailbag at nick.com :)

MODMSG nickmare: Is there any place in the world that you have not been to that you would like to go to?

Jack_Hanna: Probably home!

nickyapper: I wanna swim with Dolphins!!!

Jack_Hanna: The only place I haven't been is Sumatra, Indonesia.

Jack_Hanna: That part of the world, Borneo...I've been fortunate to go to all 6 continents, the North Pole...

Jack_Hanna: The South Pole, the Himalayas, all over Africa, China, South America...

Jack_Hanna: But that's one place I hope to go to this year. Every place is different.

MODERATOR: seadolphin has a serious question for you :)

MODMSG seadolphin: Do you know how to cure zinc poisoning in parrots? Or if it can even be cured?

Jack_Hanna: How did the parrot get the zinc??

Jack_Hanna: I used to raise parrots and I'm wondering how the parrot got a hold of the zinc...are you sure it's not lead?

Jack_Hanna: That's a hard question to answer...if the parrot flies free in the house he could have got it there.

Jack_Hanna: Some old cages are full of lead, all kinds of problems...get the parrot a new cage, and some sticks...

MODMSG seadolphin: Oh, thanks!

Jack_Hanna: Parrots like to gnaw...it's probably gnawing on something that's got zinc. Activated charcoal is very good for parrots, too.

Jack_Hanna: Take it to your local vet.

MODERATOR: micromouse can't imagine you as anything else other than the animal lover you are, but is wondering...

MODMSG micromouse: If you couldn't have a job with animals, what would you like to do?

Jack_Hanna: I think what I'd do...I'm really fascinated by what went on in the planet ten thousand years ago...

Jack_Hanna: I would probably love to study man and animals from ten thousand years ago...anthropology, archeology.

Jack_Hanna: I'm fascinated by the Ice Age, Native Americans...

MODERATOR: baylee00 has a question I never thought about before!

MODMSG baylee00: How can you tell how old a shark is?

Jack_Hanna: As far as a shark, baylee, it has a lot to do with their teeth. Sharks lose their teeth all the time.

Jack_Hanna: You can tell from the size of the teeth how old a shark is.

Jack_Hanna: I'd suggest you go online and contact Sea World.

MODERATOR: dude1015 is asking this one from the rafters!

MODMSG dude1015: Hey, Jack do you study bats?

Jack_Hanna: I don't study bats, but I know bats pollinate...they pollinate a lot of plants.

Jack_Hanna: Bats should not be touched by any young person. They can carry the rabies virus.

Jack_Hanna: Do not touch it...do not kill it either.

Jack_Hanna: Bats are very important.

MODERATOR: hockypuck8 has a question about a favorite episode :)

MODMSG hockypuck8: I saw the episode where you went to the land of the apes. Did you like making that episode?

Jack_Hanna: I'm fascinated by great apes, hockypuck.

Jack_Hanna: I've been to Rwanda three times to study the mountain gorillas.

Jack_Hanna: I've been to Uganda to study gorillas as well as chimps. Right now there's a very bad situation...

Jack_Hanna: Habitats being taken. I can only hope they survive into the next century. All the great apes are in danger...

Jack_Hanna: Except one...that's Man. Man is one of the great apes.

MODERATOR: fisty has a question about killer whales :)

MODMSG fisty: Are killer whales really that perilous???

Jack_Hanna: No, killer whales...people talk about animals being dangerous...wild animals deserve respect.

Jack_Hanna: If you respect a wild animal there shouldn't be danger involved.

Jack_Hanna: Killer whales, whales in general, dolphins too...are some of the most intelligent creatures on Earth.

Jack_Hanna: Their echo location is unbelievable...I'm totally fascinated by the whales and dolphins.

Jack_Hanna: Their family structure is amazing to see. I'm amazed by the killer whale.

Jack_Hanna: I've been whale watching in Australia, the United States, Africa...whales are all over the world.

MODERATOR: Here's another one from the mailbag at nick.com. We love it when they send their questions in if they can't make it!

MODMSG nickmyst: From the nick.com mailbag: Do TV cameras make the animals nervous?

Jack_Hanna: No, most all of our animals are raised in our educational facility at the zoo.

Jack_Hanna: TV cameras don't make them nervous.

Jack_Hanna: I get more nervous than the animals.

MODERATOR: artist4015 has a different kind of question...

MODMSG artist4015: Is there any animal you don't want to study? Is there any animal you're afraid of?

Jack_Hanna: That's a good question, artist.

Jack_Hanna: Obviously a lot of the vipers...I just got back from Panama and Costa Rica.

Jack_Hanna: A lot of the vipers I'm not too excited to see...the poison spiders I'm not too excited to see.

Jack_Hanna: I don't want to get stung by jellyfish...I don't like bee stings either.

Jack_Hanna: But again, remember what I said...these animals are acting in defense.

Jack_Hanna: They are not trying to look for you.

MODERATOR: unreal120 was nervous to ask this :)

MODMSG unreal120: Do you ever feel nervous right before a show?

Jack_Hanna: Yes.

Jack_Hanna: I think anybody who does television...it's like you get nervous before a game if you're a football player.

Jack_Hanna: You have to have energy before you do TV—live TV—like I do.

Jack_Hanna: That's one of the most difficult things, to have that energy. It's not always nervousness, it's anticipation. Now I try to build energy up.

MODERATOR: cygnusstar would like to know...

MODMSG cygnusstar: What's the funniest animal you've ever seen?

nickyapper: Good question!

Jack_Hanna: The funniest animal I've ever seen is a platypus...it's got duck feet, a duck bill, it lays eggs...

nickyapper: And they're furry!!

Jack_Hanna: They're furry, they have milk. It looks like part duck part otter part fish...it's weird.

Jack_Hanna: You only find them in Australia.

MODERATOR: wannabdiva is a concerned animal person :)

MODMSG wannabdiva: About how many animals die from people cutting down rain forests?

nickyapper: Great name and great question!!!

Jack_Hanna: Millions...millions.

Jack_Hanna:That's the biggest problem we have on the planet right now, the loss of rain forest.

Jack_Hanna: It's not just how many animals die...it's how many plants die that could carry cures for people.

Jack_Hanna: Every hour we lose two or three species, a plant or animal, every hour.

Jack_Hanna: Right now we're losing species that haven't even been discovered yet, in the rain forest.

nickyapper:That's extraordinarily sad

Jack_Hanna: The size of the state of New York is lost in rain forest each year.

MODERATOR: grapelila has an exploratory question!

MODMSG grapelila: How often do we discover a new animal?

Jack_Hanna: We're discovering new animals...I was just in Costa Rica and Panama...it's like every month, they're discovering 2 or 3 species of insect...

Jack_Hanna: For animals, a couple each year. We're discovering new plants and animals and insects every day.

nickyapper: Wow—time flies when you're blabbing with Jack Hanna!!

MODERATOR: kittieqt has a follow up question for you.

MODMSG kittieqt: What about pollution? How many animals get killed from this horrible thing?

Jack_Hanna: Millions. We have lost 40% of all our amphibians in the last 20 years.

Jack_Hanna: I'm talking about lizards, frogs, salamanders...that's a good indicator of what's happening with pollution.

Jack_Hanna: Amphibians are a great indicator of polllution in air and water.

MODERATOR: chadc is changing the subject a little (being a Nick fan and all)...

MODMSG chadc: Do you watch Nickelodeon on TV?

nickyapper: Of course he does!!!

Jack_Hanna: Whenever I'm in the United States, I watch it. My vet's children watch it all the time...

nickyapper: Everyone watches Nick!!

Jack_Hanna: They're online right now! The reason I do is it's great fun and great education.

Jack_Hanna: And I'm sorry to say most TV, except for my show, doesn't do that!

Jack_Hanna: Nickelodeon is very important for young people. When I was young we had a lot of TV that was very important, with no violence...

Jack_Hanna: Hopefully some day it'll come back to that.

nickyapper: Thanks, Jack!

MODERATOR: Jack you certainly have enlightened us all! tiki110 is wondering...

MODMSG tiki110: I feel bad for those animals. Is there anything kids can do to help?

Jack_Hanna: Yes, tiki.

nickyapper: GREAT question!!!

Jack_Hanna: Your own backyard is a virtual wildlife preserve, everybody's backyard...

Jack_Hanna: Leave a little patch of grass for the animals, a little woodpile, some water standing...

Jack_Hanna: Put out bird feeders in the winter, find out where there are national organizations.

Jack_Hanna: Everybody can help...recycling is one of the most important things they can do to help everybody.

Jack_Hanna: One American young person consumes more of our resources than a 100 African children.

Jack_Hanna: So we can actually help by not consuming so much of our Earth's resources.

nickyapper: Wow! That's some statistic!!

Jack_Hanna: We must remember there's only one planet, and we all live here together. We all breathe the same air, drink the same water...

Jack_Hanna: It makes no difference, we're all here on the same Earth and the Earth can only withstand so much abuse.

Jack_Hanna: If we take care of the Earth, it'll take care of us.

MODERATOR: sandshark has a question of particular interest to me!

MODMSG sandshark: How far up can a bird fly?

Jack_Hanna: Condors can go miles high, over the Andes...some pilots have seen birds at 30, even 35,000 feet.

MODERATOR: One of the Blabbers who couldn't make it to the chat sent in this question through the mailbag at nick.com...

MODMSG nickfrog: Do you know what lizards eat?

Jack_Hanna: Lizards eat insects like flies, bugs and crickets.

Jack_Hanna: That's why a lot of insecticides...the lizards eat them, that's where a lot of the problems start.

Jack_Hanna: It's very important that the insects eat the right things so everybody else eats the right things.

Jack_Hanna: All of us, as human beings, eat about a pound of insects, we don't even know about.

Jack_Hanna: When you cut wheat for cereal, apple juice...we all eat at least a pound we don't even know.

nickyapper: EWW!

MODERATOR: oh fiddle-dee-dee! The fiddleman has a question for you :)

MODMSG fiddleman: The okapi is one of my favorite animals. How can you tell that the okapi is related to the giraffe? It looks more like a zebra!

Jack_Hanna: It does because of the stripes on it, but its head and its horns, make it related to the giraffe.

Jack_Hanna: It's one of the most endangered animals in the world. We have two at the Columbus zoo.

Jack_Hanna: Their fur feels just like velvet.

MODERATOR: animalking has a regal question :)

MODMSG animalking: Have you ever seen a Tasmanian tiger?

Jack_Hanna: I was in Tasmania last year. And the last one ever seen was back in the 1920s..

Jack_Hanna: No one has ever seen one since then, so they've confirmed that they're extinct in the wild.

MODERATOR: cody995 is asking something else I never thought about!

MODMSG cody995: Do wild cats kill the most animals??

Jack_Hanna: No, no...Man kills the most animals.

Jack_Hanna: Not hunters...hunters are good conservationists, most hunters.

Jack_Hanna: What kills most animals is Man, from the standpoint of pollution, habitat loss, etc.

Jack_Hanna: Animals never kill to waste, ever...We as human beings need to watch how animals live.

Jack_Hanna: They don't abuse their young, they don't kill their own kind...We need to watch how animals take care of their families, we'd learn a great deal if we did.

nickyapper:We have about 10 minutes left with Jack Hanna!! Send us your questions NOW!!

MODERATOR: cygnusstar indeed has an interesting question!

MODMSG cygnusstar: I think this is an interesting question...Do you like Nick's show "The Wild Thornberrys"?

Jack_Hanna: I do like that, cygnus...I've seen that once. My vet's kids like that too.

Jack_Hanna: The vet is here helping me with my dog.

MODERATOR: xerd spun in here to ask you this question, Jack!

MODMSG xerd: Is the tazmanian devil a real animal?

Jack_Hanna: Yes...it's a funny animal.

Jack_Hanna: It actually bit the tip of my boot off. They're like wolverines, but a lot smaller.

Jack_Hanna: They call them Tazzies over there in Tasmania...a beautiful country.

MODERATOR: casingod is taking notes :)

MODMSG casingod: What class of animal is a koala bear???

Jack_Hanna: A koala bear is a marsupial...not a bear.

Jack_Hanna: The baby is raised in a pouch. The baby, when it's born, looks like a little worm...

Jack_Hanna: It comes out of the birth canal, crawls into the pouch...so instead of growing in the mother, it actually grows in the pouch.

nickyapper: Five minutes, folks!! Five minutes!!

MODERATOR: blobjonny has a question about your show :)

MODMSG blobjonny: What made you decide to have your own TV show?

Jack_Hanna: I never really decided. Someone came and asked me to do a TV show.

Jack_Hanna: I do TV to have fun. I don't take myself seriously on TV. I basically have fun doing it. and I hope people learn from me doing it. But someone called me.

MODERATOR: We only have time for this last question and I think that you must be ziggirl's hero!

MODMSG ziggirl: When I'm older I want to work with animals. How can I go about getting that type of job?

Jack_Hanna: At the age of 10 or 12, you should start looking at your local zoo, see what kinds of camps they have...

Jack_Hanna: Start volunteering with a vet or at a farm. Then you can pursue college.

nickyapper: Wow! Get cracking!!

Jack_Hanna: There's one college called Moorpark College in Moorpark, CA. It's the only two year course where you can get a degree in training animals and zookeeper management.

Jack_Hanna: Or you can get a four year degree in zoology. There are 16 careers in most zoos.

Jack_Hanna: It's horticulture, marketing, public relations, veterinary medicine, concessions...a lot of careers are involved in the zoo, not just animals.

MODERATOR: Jack, thank you so much for joining us tonight! Would you like to tell us about some of your upcoming plans?

Jack_Hanna: I want to thank everyone for tuning in tonight, because our resources and our wildlife are so important to the survival of our planet.

Jack_Hanna: And I just appreciate everyone's interest in talking with me about it tonight.

Jack_Hanna: On my television series—"Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures"—I just got back from the North Pole, doing a show on polar bears.

Jack_Hanna: I'm leaving for a few days for the Galapagos Islands, for Ecaudor...then later to Israel to do a show on animals in the bible.

Jack_Hanna: That's what I've got coming up on my platter right now.

nickyapper: Wow, that's sounds great!! Can I come?

nickyapper: Bon voyage!!

Jack_Hanna: Yes...we take people with us sometimes!

MODERATOR: We certainly hope you can come back again to answer the hundreds of questions we couldn't get to!

nickyapper: Thanks for chatting!!

Jack_Hanna: Goodbye everybody! I'm going to go take care of my dog!

MODERATOR: 'Night Jack!!

nickyapper: G'night Blabbers!!