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American Morning
Interview With Jack Hanna
Aired January 01, 2004 - 09:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hope you're writing down all these dates. Now, there's a pretty important college football game today in Pasadena, California. But first, before Michigan and USC tee it off, the Tournament of Roses Parade, a New Year's Day tradition since 1890. I can tell you in 1890 they did not have that.
Two hundred people were on hand for the first one and there were no chewing dinosaurs of any variety. And now a million people line the parade route. Four hundred million watch it on TV in over 100 countries.
Joining us from Pasadena, where it is only 6:22 in the morning, Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, host of the television series "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures."
He'll be riding on the Rainbird Corporation float.
Jack, how do we get from sprinklers to you to Pasadena?
Explain that one.
JACK HANNA, DIRECTOR EMERITUS, COLUMBUS ZOO: Well, the way we do that is Rainbird, their message is water. And they're the largest manufacturer of irrigation products in the world. And this is called Springtime Symphony. And what it is, it's the Colorado River running through the Grand Canyon. And you can see the waterfalls here. It's one of the only floats with eight waterfalls, 1,500 gallons of water, 60,000 roses. And you can imagine what all these animals are made out of. Everything on this float has to be a living product from a plant or whatever it might, every single thing on the float.
Look at this. The -- or look at that beautiful orchids along the base of that. Those orchids will retail for $20 apiece. So you can imagine the volunteer hours, 10,000 volunteer hours go into building this float.
O'BRIEN: Maybe we could pull back just a little bit so you can see some more of it.
When you talk about all that water, it weighs just 13,000 pounds just having all that water there.
HANNA: That's right. Right.
O'BRIEN: I would say that's a pretty elaborate float. Look at that thing. Wow! HANNA: Yes, that's -- they won -- look at this. They won the sweepstakes award. They won the sweepstakes award three out of the last three years. This year it was a grand marshal award. They've won an award every single year for the last eight years. The Rainbird...
O'BRIEN: Hey, Jack, is that a palliated woodpecker there? Is that what that is up there?
HANNA: Exactly, a palliated woodpecker.
O'BRIEN: Wow!
HANNA: A very, very rare woodpecker, the largest one in this country.
O'BRIEN: Look at the squirrel.
HANNA: And what you have here is an old growth -- yes, look at this. Look at the chipmunks and squirrels.
O'BRIEN: That's a chipmunk or a squirrel?
HANNA: They stand, they scratch...
O'BRIEN: That's a squirrel, right?
HANNA: A little chipmunk strolling back there. But even the eyes have little seeds. Can you imagine putting every little seed, pampas grass, corn shucks, every single thing on these animals? It takes 10,000 volunteer hours. And the painting of the float takes almost 10 months.
O'BRIEN: Well, I know...
HANNA: And you see the beautiful owls here.
O'BRIEN: ... and we should remind people, this is not just, you know, stuffing tissue paper in there. The idea on the Tournament of the Roses Parade is it's living stuff, right?
HANNA: Every single float, especially this one, everything has to be living on the float.
O'BRIEN: Wow!
HANNA: And riding with me today is our beautiful owl here. This is a Eurasian eagle owl, the largest owl in the world, and this is Walter Crawford of Wild Bird Sanctuary. Look at this, the largest owl in the world. Look at this thing. You'd think...
O'BRIEN: That's a beautiful animal, Jack.
HANNA: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Wow! HANNA: You think this animal would never...
O'BRIEN: And, of course, he just gave us the salute. That's the Eurasian owl salute.
HANNA: Yes, he just -- that's exactly it, a salute. That's exactly what it is.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HANNA: But Walter has to ride with that owl the whole three hours. His arm gets pretty tired at the end.
O'BRIEN: Well, and...
HANNA: Isn't that a beautiful owl?
O'BRIEN: Can you give us a few words on that beautiful bird and where you'd find it?
HANNA: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That is gorgeous. Look at those eyes.
HANNA: All right, the Eurasian eagle owl is found in Europe. The owl is found on every continent in the world except Antarctica, the only animal in the world found on every continent except Antarctica. It's called the bird of silent flight. You never hear this bird fly, like a bird of prey or a parrot. Their eyesight is good, obviously, five times greater than ours. But their hearing is echo location. They can locate a mouse in a dark gymnasium within probably two or three hours.
O'BRIEN: Wow! And very stealthy, as you say.
HANNA: Yes, and you see the...
O'BRIEN: All right, well, tell me what it's like -- go ahead. Finish up.
HANNA: Well, the talons on there would go right through his arm if he didn't have that glove on.
O'BRIEN: Yes, yes, keep the glove on there. Definitely. What's it like...
HANNA: Yes, well, Walter will.
O'BRIEN: What's it like participating in this parade? Is it...
HANNA: Well, I...
O'BRIEN: It must be a lot of fun for you. You must enjoy it.
HANNA: Yes, you know something? The Rose Bowl Parade, you've got -- everybody in the country has to see it. You know, I always watch this little boy in Tennessee on a farm on my little TV. But here, to ride in it, you know, I jump out of airplanes, dive with great white sharks, do a lot of crazy stuff. But riding in that parade, coming around that corner and seeing 1.1 million people is the thrill of a lifetime. I mean it really is.
This is my sixth year and it's just, every single year is exciting, especially with the Rainbird people, who put so much effort into this float to teach us about our earth's natural resources. That's what excites me. Because without water, we have nothing on the planet.
O'BRIEN: Yes, there's nothing quite like it, is there?
HANNA: Well, no there really -- if you can imagine, you go back there and sit on the earth, stand with that float like I do for three hours and smell 60,000 roses, and it is just, it is, you know, I can't do it justice here on television because you just have to see the work. I mean look at the waterfalls, eight of them, and the misting going down there. It looks just like you're in the Grand Canyon with that magnificent Colorado River going down through there.
O'BRIEN: I doubt in 1890 they could have contemplated what we see there.
All right, Jack Hanna, have a great time.
HANNA: Yes, just a few roses.
O'BRIEN: Enjoy the parade. I assume you get a chance to see the football game, as well. And always a pleasure having you drop by.
HANNA: Happy New Year.
O'BRIEN: Same to you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 1, 2004 - 09:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hope you're writing down all these dates. Now, there's a pretty important college football game today in Pasadena, California. But first, before Michigan and USC tee it off, the Tournament of Roses Parade, a New Year's Day tradition since 1890. I can tell you in 1890 they did not have that.
Two hundred people were on hand for the first one and there were no chewing dinosaurs of any variety. And now a million people line the parade route. Four hundred million watch it on TV in over 100 countries.
Joining us from Pasadena, where it is only 6:22 in the morning, Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, host of the television series "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures."
He'll be riding on the Rainbird Corporation float.
Jack, how do we get from sprinklers to you to Pasadena?
Explain that one.
JACK HANNA, DIRECTOR EMERITUS, COLUMBUS ZOO: Well, the way we do that is Rainbird, their message is water. And they're the largest manufacturer of irrigation products in the world. And this is called Springtime Symphony. And what it is, it's the Colorado River running through the Grand Canyon. And you can see the waterfalls here. It's one of the only floats with eight waterfalls, 1,500 gallons of water, 60,000 roses. And you can imagine what all these animals are made out of. Everything on this float has to be a living product from a plant or whatever it might, every single thing on the float.
Look at this. The -- or look at that beautiful orchids along the base of that. Those orchids will retail for $20 apiece. So you can imagine the volunteer hours, 10,000 volunteer hours go into building this float.
O'BRIEN: Maybe we could pull back just a little bit so you can see some more of it.
When you talk about all that water, it weighs just 13,000 pounds just having all that water there.
HANNA: That's right. Right.
O'BRIEN: I would say that's a pretty elaborate float. Look at that thing. Wow! HANNA: Yes, that's -- they won -- look at this. They won the sweepstakes award. They won the sweepstakes award three out of the last three years. This year it was a grand marshal award. They've won an award every single year for the last eight years. The Rainbird...
O'BRIEN: Hey, Jack, is that a palliated woodpecker there? Is that what that is up there?
HANNA: Exactly, a palliated woodpecker.
O'BRIEN: Wow!
HANNA: A very, very rare woodpecker, the largest one in this country.
O'BRIEN: Look at the squirrel.
HANNA: And what you have here is an old growth -- yes, look at this. Look at the chipmunks and squirrels.
O'BRIEN: That's a chipmunk or a squirrel?
HANNA: They stand, they scratch...
O'BRIEN: That's a squirrel, right?
HANNA: A little chipmunk strolling back there. But even the eyes have little seeds. Can you imagine putting every little seed, pampas grass, corn shucks, every single thing on these animals? It takes 10,000 volunteer hours. And the painting of the float takes almost 10 months.
O'BRIEN: Well, I know...
HANNA: And you see the beautiful owls here.
O'BRIEN: ... and we should remind people, this is not just, you know, stuffing tissue paper in there. The idea on the Tournament of the Roses Parade is it's living stuff, right?
HANNA: Every single float, especially this one, everything has to be living on the float.
O'BRIEN: Wow!
HANNA: And riding with me today is our beautiful owl here. This is a Eurasian eagle owl, the largest owl in the world, and this is Walter Crawford of Wild Bird Sanctuary. Look at this, the largest owl in the world. Look at this thing. You'd think...
O'BRIEN: That's a beautiful animal, Jack.
HANNA: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Wow! HANNA: You think this animal would never...
O'BRIEN: And, of course, he just gave us the salute. That's the Eurasian owl salute.
HANNA: Yes, he just -- that's exactly it, a salute. That's exactly what it is.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HANNA: But Walter has to ride with that owl the whole three hours. His arm gets pretty tired at the end.
O'BRIEN: Well, and...
HANNA: Isn't that a beautiful owl?
O'BRIEN: Can you give us a few words on that beautiful bird and where you'd find it?
HANNA: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That is gorgeous. Look at those eyes.
HANNA: All right, the Eurasian eagle owl is found in Europe. The owl is found on every continent in the world except Antarctica, the only animal in the world found on every continent except Antarctica. It's called the bird of silent flight. You never hear this bird fly, like a bird of prey or a parrot. Their eyesight is good, obviously, five times greater than ours. But their hearing is echo location. They can locate a mouse in a dark gymnasium within probably two or three hours.
O'BRIEN: Wow! And very stealthy, as you say.
HANNA: Yes, and you see the...
O'BRIEN: All right, well, tell me what it's like -- go ahead. Finish up.
HANNA: Well, the talons on there would go right through his arm if he didn't have that glove on.
O'BRIEN: Yes, yes, keep the glove on there. Definitely. What's it like...
HANNA: Yes, well, Walter will.
O'BRIEN: What's it like participating in this parade? Is it...
HANNA: Well, I...
O'BRIEN: It must be a lot of fun for you. You must enjoy it.
HANNA: Yes, you know something? The Rose Bowl Parade, you've got -- everybody in the country has to see it. You know, I always watch this little boy in Tennessee on a farm on my little TV. But here, to ride in it, you know, I jump out of airplanes, dive with great white sharks, do a lot of crazy stuff. But riding in that parade, coming around that corner and seeing 1.1 million people is the thrill of a lifetime. I mean it really is.
This is my sixth year and it's just, every single year is exciting, especially with the Rainbird people, who put so much effort into this float to teach us about our earth's natural resources. That's what excites me. Because without water, we have nothing on the planet.
O'BRIEN: Yes, there's nothing quite like it, is there?
HANNA: Well, no there really -- if you can imagine, you go back there and sit on the earth, stand with that float like I do for three hours and smell 60,000 roses, and it is just, it is, you know, I can't do it justice here on television because you just have to see the work. I mean look at the waterfalls, eight of them, and the misting going down there. It looks just like you're in the Grand Canyon with that magnificent Colorado River going down through there.
O'BRIEN: I doubt in 1890 they could have contemplated what we see there.
All right, Jack Hanna, have a great time.
HANNA: Yes, just a few roses.
O'BRIEN: Enjoy the parade. I assume you get a chance to see the football game, as well. And always a pleasure having you drop by.
HANNA: Happy New Year.
O'BRIEN: Same to you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
