Saturday, January 2, 2010

Jack Hanna


Today is Jack Hanna's 63rd birthday. I've always liked him. I grew up watching Jack on his Animal Adventures shows as well as the Tonight Show and others. There is just something about him that I have always liked. Maybe it's the way he lets animals crawl all over him. I still laugh when I see the clip of the camel licking his head and making his hair stand up all gooey. Here are a few interesting facts about Jack Hanna ...

  • He volunteered for a veterinarian when he was eleven.
  • He majored in business and political science in college.
  • Jack got in trouble for keeping ducks in his dorm room.
  • He also got in trouble for housing a donkey behind his frat house.
  • Jack married his wife, Suzi in his senior year.
  • They opened a pet shop and petting zoo on his father's farmland.
  • The petting zoo was closed after a child was mauled by a lion.
  • Jack became the director of the Columbus Zoo in 1978.
  • He has published many books for children.
  • Jack and Suzi have 3 daughters.
What a lot of people don't know is that Jack Hanna owns a home right here where I live. I live in the town of Bigfork and just down the road is a small town called Wood's Bay. Somewhere in between the two places (less than 10 minutes apart) is Jack Hanna's ranch. He's here quite often, but I have yet to run into him. It's believed he will retire here soon, so hopefully I will catch a glimpse of him one of these days. And how cool is this picture above? I just had to post this one since my new picture book is out now -- Lemur Troops & Critter Groups. Who knows, maybe I'll run into Jack one of these days and give him a copy!

5 comments:

  1. I didn't know he lived by you, that's pretty cool! I've always liked him too, he's pretty funny. Nice picture.

    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  2. How neat! I enjoy watching him on t.v. also...he's always so calm with all the animals...I love the donkey behind the frat house...grin...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I always loved to watch him on the Letterman show. Never a dull moment!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yep Jack Hanna is way cool. How terrible a child was mauled by a lion...but it didn't stop him from continuing to do what he loved, did it? There's a lesson in that, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have always liked him too! Cool that he is a neighbor of yours.

    ReplyDelete