‘Jungle Jack’ Hanna returning to NPAC

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Jungle Jack Hanna is coming back to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio and it’s a show he’s looking forward to.

“I love coming to that theater, and I’m not just saying this, it’s one of the nicest theaters I go to,” Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, said of the NPAC during a telephone interview on Wednesday. “Some major cities don’t have theaters that nice; my gosh, it’s incredible.”

The famed zoo keeper said he prefers smaller cities for the 40 to 50 shows he does annually, noting that people in bigger cities have plenty of events and activities to go to.

Hanna also had praise for Van Wert-born philanthropist Scott Niswonger, calling him “an incredible human being.” In addition to Niswonger’s efforts here in Van Wert, Hanna also praised the Van Wert native for his philanthropy in Tennessee, where Hanna was born and Niswonger now lives, adding that the two have met several times at events in that state.

As with most of Hanna’s shows, the one coming to Van Wert this Saturday afternoon will feature a number of live animals, including a cheetah, a clouded leopard, a kangaroo, a sloth, and a binturong, also known as a bearcat, as well as animal video clips, and bloopers from Hanna’s many television appearances over the past 30 years. The show will run 1½ hours with no breaks, he said.

The Tennessee native’s love of animals began as a boy on his parent’s farm near Knoxville. At the age of 11, Hanna went to work for a local veterinarian, Dr. Roberts, mucking out stalls and helping out where he could.

“That’s when I knew I wanted to work with animals,” he said.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Muskingum College in New Concord, Hanna got married to his college sweetheart, Suzi Egli, and had three daughters, Kathaleen, Suzanne, and Julie. In fact, it was Hanna’s youngest daughter, Julie, who inadvertently brought Hanna to the Columbus Zoo.

After working with a wildlife adventure company and directing the Central Florida Zoo, Hanna took a break to seek treatment for Julie, who had contracted leukemia. He subsequently brought his family to Columbus, where he thought Columbus Children’s Hospital had the best leukemia treatment (Julie recovered), and was offered the job of directing the city’s then-rundown and poorly attended zoo in 1978.

“They never told me when I took the job that it was almost ready to close,” Hanna said.

Hanna cleaned up the zoo grounds and began a transition from caged animals to animal habitats. Realizing that more funding was needed to turn the zoo around, the telegenic zoo director then began the public relations work that has made him — and the zoo — nationally recognized. Today, the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium is considered one of the top zoos in the United States, with annual attendance last year of 2.3 million people.

After creating a Columbus television show called “Hanna’s Ark” in 1981, Hanna got the chance to go on national television in 1985 when he was invited to appear on “Good Morning, America” after the birth of twin gorillas at the Columbus Zoo.

That began more than 30 years of television work, with regular appearances on “Good Morning, America” and both of David Letterman’s late-night television shows.

Hanna shared that Letterman, a very private person, didn’t like to chat with guests before or after a show, but added that the late-night host, who Hanna jokingly said “didn’t what a dog was” when the zoo director began appearing on his show, has since become very involved in animal advocacy.

“He even hugged me on my last appearance and thanked me,” Hanna said.

With his public relations work beginning to take up much of his time, Hanna also stepped down from the day-to-day running of the Columbus Zoo, becoming director emeritus in 1992.

Today, Hanna has two television shows, the multiple Emmy Award-winning “Jack Hanna’s into the Wild”, which began in 2007, and “Jack Hanna’s Wild Countdown”, which began in 2011. Following the creation of Partners in Conservation, a program begun by the Columbus Zoo to help gorillas in the wild in Rwanda, Hanna also returns to that country regularly, even buying a house there, while spending most of his down time at his ranch in Bigfork, Montana.

The now-famous “animal ambassador”, who received honorary doctorates from his alma mater, as well as Otterbein University, Capital University, and The Ohio State University, spends his time promoting zoos and wild animal conservation projects, while also gently scoffing at those who think animals should only exist in the wild.

Hanna notes that national parks, such as Yellowstone, as well as wildlife areas in Kenya and other African nations, are still controlled habitats, not that much different than a modern zoo.

He also cites efforts by major zoos to provide more lifelike habitats for animals, including the Columbus Zoo’s 43-acre Heart of Africa habitat dedicated by Hanna and Betty White in 2014.

One thing that’s certain, Hanna’s Niswonger show won’t be boring.

“It’s going to be a fun show,” Hanna said of “Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild Live!”, noting that he keeps things positive during his shows and doesn’t “preach.” Hanna will also sign autographs before and after the show, which begins at 3 p.m. Saturday. Some tickets are still available at the NPAC box office, 419.238.NPAC, which is open from noon-4 p.m., Monday through Friday, or online anytime at www.npacvw.org.