Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Larry King Live
Interview with Jack Hanna
Aired August 17, 2004 - 21:00 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, HOST: Woah.
Tonight, Jack is back. Jack Hanna, the world renowned animal expert is here, with all sorts of exotic critters, even a couple that used to be conjoined twins. It's a jungle out there, in here too. Jack Hanna, and his amazing animals, a couple of kids too, here for the hour next on LARRY KING LIVE.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: It's always a great pleasure to welcome Jack Hanna to LARRY KING LIVE. The host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventure," seen in the United States and more than 60 countries around the world. He's director emeritus at the Columbus zoo and co-author of a new book, "Wild About Babies: what the animals teach us about parenting."
Before we meet all of the animals what do animals teach us?
JACK HANNA, DIRECTOR EMERITUS OF COLUMBUS ZOO: You know, Larry, they teach a great deal. For example, a mother gorilla, just like a human would do has a baby. We had the only twin gorillas ever born in the world. We talk about that in the book. How the gorilla's were born and how she had a hard time -- difficulty caring for the other one, because no one after seen twin gorillas. It's the first ones ever born in a zoological situation.
Or the giraffe for example. When a mother has a baby giraffe, she has the baby giraffe and it falls six feet to the ground. And you sit there and say, oh my gosh, and then she -- the mother protects it by having it stand underneath her.
And there are also a lot of sayings in there by Harvis Housing (ph). There's a lot of sayings in there about how we can care for babies. How we can learn a lot from the animal world. It's what I've always said, the animal world can teach us a great deal. You know, animals don't abuse their young. Animals don't really kill unnecessarily. They don't waste food or their resources. So we as humans can learn a lot from the animal world. That's what it teaches us in this book.
KING: But the young separate a lot from animals -- from their parents, right? HANNA: Well, they do -- they do a lot quicker a lot of times, yes. But now a gorilla is just like a human baby, for example.
KING: Really.
HANNA: Oh yes. They're totally helpless the first probably, two, three years of life.
KING: Really.
HANNA: But then again a giraffe, the minute it hits the ground, that's when it's more susceptible to a lion or leopard or cheetah, because that animal has got such long legs, if that animal is not walking -- the zebra, giraffe, if the babies aren't walking within, lets say, two hours they're history. That's nature.
KING: All right. We'll be talking a lot about it. The book is "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach us About Parenting"
And now we meet our first animal of the night.
HANNA: This is an animal I've never had on, Larry. This is a fishing cat from Asia.
KING: It's OK. It's all right. I like water on my head.
An Asian fishing cat.
HANNA: Now watch this, Larry. Look at this. How many cats have you seen go in the water like this. I've never done this on any show ever before.
KING: I can tell.
HANNA: But the Asian fishing cat, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) this is from Zoo To You. There are only about 160, Larry, in the world. In the world in the SSP, the Species Survival Plan.
KING: What a cat!
HANNA: Not only what cat. You have see this cat swim underwater. We've been actually to Asia and seen -- very rarely, we're very lucky, seen this cat fishing, pulling in ducks -- ducks swing in the water and they pull the ducks from underneath. They swim underneath the duck and grab the duck and pull him down. You need -- You need to understand something. You won't ever see one of these ever again. These animals are so rare, I'm sorry.
KING: I won't see one ever again and it won't be too soon. OK. All right. What a way to begin.
HANNA: OK, we'll take the Asian fishing cat. But Larry, it's one of the most endangered cats in the world, if not the most endangered cat in the world.
KING: I know why, Jack! What's next?
HANNA: This animal, this is vervet monkey.
Now, you've got to go on safari with me some day.
KING: Oh, I'm big on safaris.
HANNA: I know I can tell. Chaia King, went with me once.
KING: She went to Africa.
HANNA: Right. She loved it. And she saw these. This coming a little closer. This is vervet monkey.
KING: Wow!
HANNA: And the vervet monkey, Larry, they're in troops of 50 to 100 to 200. As a matter fact, these vervet monkeys actually, took my underwear three-years-ago in Botswana. I had my underwear and socks laid out drying and I came back from filming and all my close were gone. The monkeys had it on top of their heads in the trees and swinging around with all my close. And there main way of surviving is in large numbers. Some animals are solitary as you know. But this animal travels in 50 to 100 to 200 in a troupe. It's called a vervet monkey. Some people call them a blue monkey, by the way.
Now the fennecs fox, is the smallest fox in the world, this from northern Africa. There are different foxes, there's the gray fox, the red fox, the arctic fox. All sorts of foxes. This is the smallest fox, full grown, about six years old. You notice the ears.
What some people don't realize about this fennec fox is those ears, Larry, are not only used for hearing insects, but also like an elephant has big ears -- the zoo, when you go to the zoo like Los Angeles, where ever it is, Columbus, you see them waving their ears. And that acts as a radiator to keep them cool. There are a lot of blood vessels in there. So in the desert like an elephant waves those things like a radiator to keep the animal cool. Same thing with the big ear on this animal. But's the small fox in the world. They're mainly nocturnal. And again, they live in burrows. They are a solitary creature, only come around during breeding season. Again, very, very -- you can see how big it is. Just nothing.
KING: Beautiful.
HANNA: Now this spider monkey has a story, Larry. This spider monkey is injured. Zoo To You does a great job in rehabilitating a lot of animals. The game and fish in the state of California found this in the dumpster. Someone had a -- this is what we try and tell people. Everybody watching the show sees the animals as nice little pets and cute and cuddly.
Wild animals are dangerous. You and I talked about it, they're like a loaded gun. They can go off any time. Someone had this as a pet, probably bit him. Who knows how -- also by the way, you can see his legs, how it wasn't even fed the right food, therefore it did not develop correctly. I'll let you hold him. Didn't develop correctly, and the animal cannot walk or anything. But the Zoo To You now cares for this animal and teaches kids about spider monkey, they're from South America.
KING: They're called spider because...
HANNA: They just look like a spider. They swing in the tree, they have long legs.
KING: That could be Spider-Man.
HANNA: It could, that's probably what Spider-Man would have. See look at this. See how he loves to be groomed?
KING: OK, a few more in this segment. Lots more to come with Jack Hanna.
Let's meet the South American porcupine.
HANNA: One stand over there. One porcupine over there.
KING: And the North American porcupine.
HANNA: Now look at this, Larry. This is -- we'll start with this one first. This is the South American porcupine, the prehensile tail porcupine. David's got his...
KING: Woah. Geez!
HANNA: Look at this Larry. Look at this. Let me show you something. You can see now -- you can the barb exploded here. Porcupine's do not throw their quills. When you are stuck with a porcupine quill -- I had a guy that worked for me get stuck last year in his kneecap, had to have surgery. You cannot pull them out. It's almost impossible. That's how their means of defense these animals have. Now, that's why they're wearing these gloves. Here's another one right here in his arm back here.
This is the North American porcupine over here. Now the quills, they rattle their quills if they are being alarmed.
KING: That's totally for protection?
HANNA: Yes. And they'll rattle them if they are upset with you. If you go (UNINTELLIGIBLE) like a cougar or dog and go up to a porcupine and try to attack it, you're going to get those porcupine quills in your face and you'll become infected and you'll die of an infection, usually.
See now look at this, Larry. Look at this. I'm pulling as hard as and I can and I can't even get those two out. Look at that. That's why the animal can't get them out of his face or his paws or whatever it is. The only way to kill one is the cougar would have to turn the animal over under it's belly. It's very, very, very soft under here. Very, very, soft under there. And therefore, they have to attack and eat them under there.
KING: A cougar eats a porcupine?
HANNA: Yes, a cougar.
KING: No taste, right? They don't care?
HANNA: No they are starving, I mean, that's not starving, that's what they hunt in the wild. And this is a North American...
KING: They can't a trust a cougar.
HANNA: They eat -- they eat barks and leaves and that's what mainly vegetation.
KING: All right, going to get a break. Jack Hanna is the host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures." The book is "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach us About Parenting."
Lots more to come. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with Jack Hanna. Don't forget his new book "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach us About Parenting."
He's also the host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures" and the director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, and he's probably, I guess the most famous zoologist there is.
HANNA: I don't know about famous. I'm a character that just likes to teach people about the animal world.
KING: And you love animals. You trust animals.
HANNA: I respect the animals. I trust animals from the standpoint everyone -- as I explained to you before about the kind of animals I've worked with, if you respect an animal, and you usually, usually won't get harmed but you never know. I can't say something won't happen tomorrow. We put safety first with everything we do.
KING: All right. Let's meet our next animal.
HANNA: This is a black and white lemur. That's what this is?
KING: This is not Larry the lemur.
HANNA: No, this is Larry's cousin. This lemur here...
KING: Can he go on the thing?
HANNA: The lemur as we discussed before is the beautiful creature from Madagascar, off the coast of East Africa, it's an island, and these animals are really going into extinction. It's very, very endangered. He loves my water, that's great. This animal, because the loss of the rain forest and the loss of timbers in that part of the world is threatened right now and most of them are all endangered. There are about 28 species left. There are all sorts of lemurs. The ringtail lemur, this is the black and white rough lemur. And this is another type of lemur.
KING: The brown lemur.
Wait a minute! Are these two lemurs friends?
HANNA: Sometimes. You better hold that lemur. This is the brown lemur here. You can see, Larry. Can he do that noise again? Make him do it.
KING: That's a funny noise.
HANNA: It's a very funny noise, but they live in a social group. They're very, very social. They live in large troupes as well again. As far as predators, man is their greatest predator. Every animal has a predator, but man is these animals' greatest predator by cutting the rain forest and that kind of thing.
KING: What does man do to them?
HANNA: Well, basically take all their forest down, number one. Number two, they use a lot of these for coats, for headdresses, that type of thing.
KING: I liked lemurs. Where is Larry the lemur? In Columbus?
HANNA: He's doing pretty good but this I'm sure his cousin. By the way, Larry, this is a presimion (ph). This is pre-monkey and pre- ape. This is not a monkey. It's pre-monkey, pre-ape, very, very ancient and type of old world monkey. And their tails again are used for balance as well as locating their mates when they're in the forest and the grasslands.
KING: What are the first known animals? Dinosaurs?
HANNA: I'd say dinosaurs, yes, and things in the ocean that evolved and came out of the oceans as well. Look at these hands. You see here? Opposing thumbs. Look at that little hand there. Isn't that amazing? Look at this. Beautiful shot.
KING: Beautiful.
HANNA: And these animals are mainly fruit eaters, leaf eaters, insect eaters, little snakes, that type of thing. They are magnificent creatures.
KING: We should also say they're not pets.
HANNA: Nothing you see today are pets. These are all people who worked all their lives to raise these animals and use them as educational tools to teach people about the animal world. KING: By the way, we have an exclusive coming later, don't turn out because there were two tortoises born attached like Siamese twins and they were separated by a doctor and we have an exclusive tonight. They're named Peanut Butter and Jelly and they'll be with us later. Exclusive.
HANNA: Now, Larry, this is an animal called a Kinkajou. And I'm sorry to say that back in the '60s and early '70s, a lot of pet shops and I had a pet shop when I started this business, but I never sold a Kinkajou. I had them at my place here but the Kinkajous were almost taken out of the wild for a lot of pets because you can see how they'd be a nice pet. This animal is a nocturnal animal. They're from central South America. They only come out at nighttime and it's called a Kinkajou, or a honey bear, because look at the beautiful honey coat on it. They do actually a lot of times eat a lot of insects and bugs and they love honey.
KING: So what do they do all day?
HANNA: Sleep all day. That's mainly what -- nocturnal animals will sleep.
KING: What happened to the wife?
A little joke!
HANNA: Why would they sleep all day? Because obviously you can see the defense mechanisms on this animal aren't that great. He doesn't have big teeth so he wouldn't be able to protect himself against eagles, jaguars, and ocelots in central South America. They're difficult to spot when we film these animals in the wild. It's called a Kinkajou or honey bear, the tail allows the animal to live up in the tree tops and hold himself by the tail.
KING: They go right up trees, right?
HANNA: Exactly. They can reach down and grab another piece of fruit or insect or whatever it might be to eat.
KING: Where are they found?
HANNA: Central and South America. Called the Kinkajou or honey bear.
KING: Now the baboon with the grapes.
HANNA: These are hamadryas baboons.
KING: Hey! Hey! Hey!
HANNA: He's all right.
KING: How do you know he's all right. Maybe he's got a headache. Maybe he don't like Jewish guys.
HANNA: No. These baboons were confiscated by someone who tried to have these as pets and these are not pets whatsoever. They can bite.
See what he does? Look at his pouch. Look at this. It's a perfect example of how much food these animals can just eat.
KING: He puts them in his pouch?
HANNA: Exactly. He stores all that food in there. They're from northern Africa. They actually live on cliffs. Larry -- you hear that scream? That's one alarming scream and he's telling us to stay away. They live in cliffs and they live in 200, 300 troupes. The bigger baboons like the Olive (ph) baboons can take down a lion if they want to. If you have a sick lion and you get about 25 or 50 of these huge baboons, like I've seen in Africa recently, they will take down some animal that you wouldn't think they could do it.
That's a communication there. He's just telling you. I hope it's all right if he can run around in here. Come here, come here.
KING: Baboons know me which is not a good sign when you think about it.
HANNA: The key to these animals, Larry, very, very social. Grooming skills. These two can be raised together and these people had the animals and didn't know what to do with them and what they'll end up doing is they'll end up biting. Also baboons and other animals like this can carry hepatitis. They can actually carry certain diseases that we can contract.
KING: So be careful.
HANNA: You don't want to have them as pets.
KING: Back with more of Jack Hanna as we go to break. We'll remind you that you'll see scenes of upcoming things that are going to occur as well. We taped the show earlier for broadcast. tonight, lots more surprises, too. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with Jack Hanna of Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures. The author of "Wild About Babies, What The Animals Teach Us About Parenting." My wife has also asked me to remind you, I was kidding when I said she sleeps all day.
HANNA: We've seen your beautiful wife. We know she doesn't sleep. With all those kids...
KING: That was just like a joke I threw in. I should have thrown another penalty of bringing a lemur home.
HANNA: When you read "All about Babies" you'll know what (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
KING: Because I'm treated like one. No! Only a joke! What do we have now?
HANNA: This animal here, Larry.
KING: The cobra.
HANNA: He flairs his head to make him look larger and there are spitting cobras.
KING: What would happen if it bit you?
HANNA: I don't know. It's neurotoxic.
KING: What does that mean?
HANNA: Neurotoxic means it affects the nervous system, the breathing organism. Hematoxic is a rattlesnake which affects the blood system.
Tell them about this thing real quick.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure, that's a monocled cobra, that's an albino monocled. They get about five feet. They're from India. This snake here is a female, so she's a little bit heavy bodied. The snake here as has the neurotoxic venom that can kill -- a couple of an ounces can kill an animal the size of the elephant.
KING: OK, remove the cobra.
Uh-oh.
HANNA: Oh, this is neat here, Larry. This is...
KING: Oh, yes, neat. This is a black-throated monitor.
HANNA: Yes, people ask all of the time what do a lot of animals eat. I'm going to let you feed him a rat, all right.
KING: No, no, no!
You feed him the rat.
HANNA: A lot of these animals -- a lot of these animals, Larry, eat different ways. He's not hungry right now. But you see that tongue, Larry? I want to show that tongue -- that tongue is used for heat sensor like a snake. That's what they feel with. That's what they hunt with. Look at this, isn't that beautiful?
This is a black monitor. We just got through seeing one of these, by the way, in Tanzania in Kenya. We were filming the "Great Migration on animals adventures" over there, and we saw a huge one like this, Larry, over in that part of the world. This tail here is used to slap its prey and injure its prey if it can. But the main thing it does, it grabs like -- anything you can imagine, small mammals, rats, rabbits. Anything that's small like that.
Look at those claws. Those claws, also Larry, can dig real quick, let them climb trees real quick. And they can claw quick as well. Isn't that tongue -- there's a shot. A beautiful shot of the tongue.
KING: Whoa!
HANNA: But that's a perfect example, Larry, of what snakes and lizards have. They're cold-blooded by the way too.
KING: All right. Good-bye! Good-bye!
HANNA: If you felt him, Larry, he would feel cool to you, because they are cold blooded. You're 98.6, a reptile has to be the outside temperature or what the outside temperature is. They can't control the temperature.
KING: And now we meet the American alligator, I believe.
HANNA: Now, the American alligator...
KING: The American alligator.
HANNA: Right. Now this is a pretty big alligator, so we are going to put him right up here.
KING: OK, let's move this. Oh boy! Oh, boy!
HANNA: Now that's a big alligator.
When we were filming in Thailand several years ago, the largest crocodile I saw was 21 feet and weighed over 2,000 pounds. These alligators can only get to be 10 or 12 feet and maybe, 1,500, 1,800 pounds. This is a perfect of folks of the Endangered Species Act. Back in the '60s, you remember Florida, alligators were going downhill steadily. Almost in going in -- they were endangered, almost extinction.
Today there are tens of thousands of gator have all come back right now. But you've got to be careful of alligators hunt with vibration, not with necessary smell. They feel -- if you're in the water kicking at night time, swimming, I don't advise it if there are alligators around, because they feel can feel that vibration and they go after that vibration.
They cannot chew, they grab their prey, pull them below the water, drown their prey and they just kind of rip them apart. But we've actually done research on the gator, and we found like rubber tires, pieces of wood, cans, anything in them to fill them up. Their brain is very small, they are they are prehistoric.
If your playing golf. Do you play golf? I don't play golf.
KING: No, I don't.
HANNA: And you see guys with a golf ball laying here, you see him on the golf course, he walked right up to it. The gator knows you're there, all right, so he takes his tail and he moves his head -- if you can pick his tail up and move it this way. And he moves his head the same way. And Larry, it happens -- it happens like three frames. There are 17 frames a second I think in TV. This happens in 3 frames, like that. And he slaps his tail and knocks you towards his head, and then takes you in the water. And this is just -- these animal, though, are not as far as to be feared it self, unless you have a youngster or dog or something. My advice is I just wouldn't go out at nighttime and run around where the gators are.
KING: Good idea.
HANNA: Yes.
This right here -- is this the little crocodile? This little crocodile. You see right here, Larry, the difference almost.
KING: This is a crocodile?
This is a killer?
HANNA: Well, this is a baby crocodile.
KING: Oh! This is cute!
HANNA: But you see the difference, Larry, in the nose. You see that pointed nose on this?
Now, these animals get a lot larger than gators, In Australia where Steve Irwin and all these guys work, these guys get to be anywhere from 17 to 20 feet long. They're huge. This just a little baby, probably about a year old.
And also by the way, crocodile and alligators are egg layers -- like a bird. They lay about 30, 40 eggs, put big mulch over the top and these little things hatch about this big when they're first hatched. And they're very good mother, too, by the way, the crocodiles.
KING: Uh-oh, I see something coming.
HANNA: Now, this right here, Larry, this right here is something you don't want to...
KING: This is a rattlesnake?
HANNA: Yes. And people ought to know about this, Larry, this is a rattlesnake. We'll keep that away from, Larry.
KING: Good thinking!
HANNA: Yes. Watch out, just move your arm. This arm. These animals are hemotoxic snakes, Larry. And the rattlesnake will usually warn you by rattling that rattler. He won't jump on me, will he?
You can see the rattle back here. I don't know if he can show you this or not. I'll let him hold there. If you want to hold the head. KING: He rattles like a baby rattler.
HANNA: If they can here this at home. You hear that?
It goes a lot faster than that. You see the rattles. Let me hold the rattles up so people can see these. This is what you are warned with. It goes real fast -- a lot faster than this, Larry, when they're really active and upset. And that's what you -- the rattlesnake is telling you to stay away from it. They usually, Larry, can jump a about body length and a half when they strike. A lot of bites, are dry bites especially in the summer. In the spring time when the rattlesnakes have been hibernating out west in the winter, they're full of venom. So, when they come out in spring and you're bitten, you probably have a wet bite.
KING: Let's get quickly. We got to get -- we got to move through. Let's get the python.
Why from here? Why from here? Bring him from there.
HANNA: Go that way. Go behind them.
KING: Go behind me!
HANNA: Go behind, Larry, that's it. That's it.
KING: You sure this is career builder?
HANNA: Here we go, put his head up here. That's it.
KING: Oh, boy.
HANNA: Come here buddy, come here. Come here buddy, come here. Come here.
KING: Chance, Cannon, want to come over and play? No.
My two little sons are here.
HANNA: You can see, Larry, this, is a very large snake.
KING: He's OK. He's over here.
HANNA: The constrict -- this is a constrictor, Larry. It's not a poisonous snake like that last two that we had on.
KING: Not a poison snake.
HANNA: No. They have 220 teeth. We can see his head out. Try to pull his head around. He has 220 teeth shaped like fish hooks. And when those teeth are up in his jaw, so he bites, the teeth come out of the of the jaw muscles and he holds on. What you have to do, Larry, is you can't jerk your hand away, because if you do, you'll lose whatever it is. Because these teeth are inside.
Do one of the boys want to touch his tail. KING: Cannon wants to touch it.
HANNA: Come around the back Cannon. Come around this way. I'll let you hold his tail. Here. Jump on the desk here. Come here jungle Jack. Come here.
KING: Come to Jack. Come to jack!
HANNA: Come up here. Come, get in my lap, that's a boy. And go and pet him. He's not going to hurt you. That's good.
KING: Pet him again.
HANNA: Pet him again. He's fun. See there, he's not bad, is he?
KING: You like him?
HANNA: Don't you like him?
KING: Let's give him a name.
HANNA: Huh?
KING: Lucky.
HANNA: Yes, Lucky.
KING: Lucky the snake.
HANNA: I know, they'll be like siting, do you want to get off my lap? OK, I don't blame you. But these animals, Larry, can get 20-22 feet long.
He was brave. That was pretty good for a little boy.
KING: You're not kidding, because Chance is out of the building and he's on cawinga (ph). All right, we'll take a break and -- oh, my gosh. We'll take a break and we'll be back. We're having a lot of fun. Hope you are, too. More scenes coming up. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING: We're back on LARRY KING LIVE with Jack Hanna, the host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures" -- whoa!
HANNA: What was that?
KING: He's also the author of "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach Us About Parenting." He's director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo.
And this is a hawk.
HANNA: What was that?
KING: He's also the author of "Wild About Baby: What the Animals Teach us About Parenting." He's the director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. And this is a hawk.
HANNA: Right, this is a Harris' Hawk, that the Jackson's (ph) at Zoo to You teach teach people or show people how the animals fly. Now, a lot of these birds, Larry, have been injured, shot, hit by cars, whatever. This was a youngster that someone had gotten and turned over to David (ph) (UNINTELLIGIBLE) department.
The Harris's hawk -- what's different about the Harris's hawk is they're found in the Southwest, Mexico, all around there. And the animal, Larry, is one of the few birds that actually hunt -- these birds will hunt together. Most birds of prey will hunt by themselves, obviously. Not this bird. They'll hunt for and five of them at a time. They'll actually stand on top of each other on fence posts to get a better view, if they have to. They're a very, very social bird. The animal can go about 150, 160 miles an hour when they're making a dive down to find a rat or a rabbit, whatever it is.
KING: You're kidding.
HANNA: No, I'm talking fast. We're talking real fast. And their eyesight is incredible eyesight, as well. Look at the talons on the bird. They keep the bells on them because -- is this bird a hunting bird or a -- this is a hunting bird. In other words, there are falconers, Larry. It's amazing to watch them. If you ever have time, take the boys out and watch a falconer hunt birds. It's an incredible -- there -- no, fly him -- fly him back in one more time so we can see that bird come in. Can we do it one more time?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We sure can.
HANNA: Yes. Let's try this. There we go. Isn't that beautiful?
KING: How does he know where to go?
HANNA: He just knows these two by working with them. Falconers, these bids know them, just like a dog would know you at home, or whatever it is. They know exactly who these people are.
KING: Go back to the other place!
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: Oh, you want to -- there we go.
KING: Obey my command!
HANNA: That's great, David. Thank you.
KING: Thank you.
HANNA: Now, this next bird -- people always ask me, say, Jack -- say, Jack, what's the world's fastest animal? Well, what you're going to see here is the world's fastest animal.
KING: The falcon.
HANNA: Yes, the peregrine falcon. And you think about a stealth bomber, Larry -- now, these are all -- what he's doing there, these birds -- a lot of these have been injured. This -- is this hunting, too? This bird will hunt, too? It's a falconer?
This bird is the world's fastest animal at 220 miles per hour. About eight years ago, I did a show with these, and the guy said, You want this bird to fly through your legs? And he came out of the sky at about a mile up, and when he hit between my legs, Larry, it was like a bullet going between my legs. I thought I'd lost everything.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: Like this. And this bird here is adapting to our environment very well. They're actually nesting in downtown L.A.. They're nesting in downtown Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, all over the place.
KING: Are they flying around L.A.?
HANNA: Yes. They're -- I don't know about -- I'm sure that they're in taller buildings here. But the animals, what I'm saying, are adapting to our environment. We've totally -- as you know, we're building neighborhoods, and cities are getting bigger. So these animals are actually doing quite well now in a lot of major cities, on top of buildings.
And by the way, they're protected up there. You're not allowed to move a peregrine falcon's nest on a building.
Thank you so much for bringing this gorgeous animal.
KING: Yes, and they're beautiful, too.
And now we have the barn owl.
HANNA: Yes. The barn owl. The owl is...
KING: Hoo!
HANNA: Who is this?
KING: Hoo!
HANNA: The barn owl, Larry, is the only species of bird, the owl species, found on every continent except Antarctica. The owls are found on every continent except Antarctica, the only animal in the world found like that. Now, you have a lot of species of owl -- the barn owl, the European eagle owl, which is the largest. It's huge. The little screech owls, which are about this big.
The owl is called the bird of silent flight. Now, if this bird were to fly over your head, Larry, three inches in the total darkness, you would never even know it flew over your head. They have excellent eyesight, about five times greater than ours. But their hearing and echolocation is the greatest almost of any animal. They can actually go in a huge room like this and put a mouse down here, and in less than, I'd say, an hour, they'll find that mouse running around.
Isn't that beautiful? Look at that. Look at the face here. This is a barn owl? It's a barn owl? It's a barn owl. But look at the face there. Aren't -- you know, we say the "wise old owl." It's not necessarily that their brain is very small, it's they're wise because of their senses, their hearing, their eyesight makes them a very, very wise animal.
KING: Do they live a long time?
HANNA: In a zoologicial situation, 15, 20 years. In the wild, probably 8 to 10 years. But the animal, again, is adapting to our environment. Owls now are found in a lot of neighborhoods, downtown areas, that type of thing, because they're having to adapt because a lot of barns are gone, a lot of trees are gone.
KING: Yes.
HANNA: That's beautiful. Thank you.
KING: All right. Beautiful owl. And now we have?
HANNA: This right here? Oh, this is a very, very different creature.
KING: The slow loris.
HANNA: Right. The slow loris. I think this is -- the slow loris is from Asia. If we can stand right up in here, we can see this, right in here. The cameras can see this. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) point him this way. There we go.
The slow loris, Larry, is -- why does it say it's slow? Because it is very, very slow. They eat, like, little insects, worms. Look at those hands -- again, a very, very prehistoric type of animal. And they're found at nighttime, mainly nocturnal. These animals are all nocturnal.
We can't see his face there. Let me see -- see how he always wants to go to the highest place, which is now the top of her head.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: Do you see how he moves, Larry? Look at this. Look at this. Slow loris -- that's exactly why it's called the slow loris. If we can kind of turn around here...
KING: It moves slow.
HANNA: There we go. He keeps on turning -- now we can come back over there. He keeps turning around. He keeps on -- there we go. Look at this, keeping turning, like a tree. Look at the hands. I'm trying to show you the hands here. There we go. See how he is, how he's holding on, though? These animals can actually hold on upside down, whichever. I've never had a slow loris on. You don't see many of these animals -- again from Asia.
KING: No, I've never seen one.
HANNA: A slow loris.
KING: What is a two-toed sloth?
HANNA: Well, a two-toed sloth...
KING: As opposed to the one-toed sloth.
HANNA: Well, there's a three-toed sloth.
KING: Of which I am very familiar.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: No!
HANNA: This is a two-toed sloth because they have two toes. You can see here, two toes. The sloth is an animal...
KING: He lives his life upside down?
HANNA: A lot of times. Most of the time, yes, except they come down on the ground once a week to go to the bathroom. They really do. Now, why don't they go to the bathroom in the treetops, people ask. Because if they went to the bathroom in the treetops, the jaguar, the harpy eagle would hear that and go attack these animals. You can see -- what's this animal's means of defense? Other than teeth, nothing. Nothing. So they'll come down once a week very quietly.
When we were filming these in Central and South America, we have a very difficult time. They move so slow, Larry, that the algae grows on their back. The green, the rain, and it's so wet there. It looks like a big blob of moss moving in the treetops. They actually live their entire life in three or four trees, Larry.
KING: What is life like upside down, though, do you think?
HANNA: I don't know. They breed upside down. They live upside down. They go to -- I don't know if they go to the bathroom upside down. But they're a very unique creature, aren't they? They're very -- again, you have the giant sloth, they say, used to weigh a thousand pounds, back in the prehistoric days. And they're mainly, by the way, leaf eaters, fruit eaters, and that type of thing. They're not -- they're not -- they don't eat meat. But they're a really -- aren't they unique, though? Look at that face.
KING: Beautiful.
HANNA: That's a sloth, a two-toed and then a three-toed.
KING: And now we have the striped skunk.
HANNA: Now, we all know what a skunk is, right?
KING: I've heard.
HANNA: Yes. But think about it, Larry. Black and white -- why are skunks black and white, killer whales black and white? Next time you go to Sea World, look at the killer whales. You say, Why are they black and white? Why are the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) dolphins black and white? A Jersey cow's black and white, a Dalmatian. They're...
KING: What does it mean?
HANNA: A zebra's black and white. It's all camouflage, a lot of it, especially for the killer whale. They're trying to find food. It's very difficult to spot a killer whale underwater because of the black and the white camouflage. A skunk...
KING: So what, God did that to them?
HANNA: Yes. No, it's amazing how the earth was created by -- when God created the animals, it's -- if you just study animals some -- I'm still fascinated by what animals' colors are, how they live, how they work with each other and defend each other. Now, the skunk obviously has...
KING: Why doesn't he smell?
HANNA: Well, this one, again, was a pet. Somebody de-scented it, probably started ripping their house apart. Plus, Larry, skunks can carry rabies virus without ever showing symptoms. Now, you don't have to be nervous. This one doesn't have rabies.
KING: I'm not.
HANNA: No, I -- I (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
KING: I like this.
HANNA: He likes skunks.
KING: I like skunks.
HANNA: I never knew you liked skunks.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: ... learning a lot about myself tonight.
HANNA: I thought you liked Larry the lemur, but you like skunks.
KING: I like Larry the lemur, but I like this skunk. It appeals to me.
HANNA: Right.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Wait a minute. You said you de-scented him?
HANNA: Yes. I hope we de-scented him.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: But skunks...
KING: You hope he de-scented him?
HANNA: But skunks are an animal -- very inquisitive, but they can be very destructive. When you -- in the wintertime, I tell people, or even in the summertime, do not put your cat food out if you have a cat because cat food attracts skunks. Try and feed your pets indoors. If not, you're going to have skunks around the house, and then we have to come and try and remove the skunk and put him somewhere else.
But they're a neat little animal. They're also adapting, by the way, to many, many neighborhoods throughout the country.
KING: Cute. OK, and let's bring on one more in this segment, the three-banded armadillo.
HANNA: Right. This is another animal that's...
KING: Oh, I love this. They hide.
HANNA: ... very prehistoric here. The three-banded armadillo is from Brazil. You've heard of the nine-banded. You've seen nine- banded in Florida, in Texas...
KING: Yes.
HANNA: ... and New Mexico. That's a real much bigger armadillo. This is the three-banded armadillo from Brazil. And these animals only have three bands -- one, two, three bands. It's full grown. Again, they're nocturnal. And you can see the head there. See how the head's tucked away in there? I'll hold it like this. And when he opens up his little head, his little head comes out right here. This is...
KING: This is not a cantaloupe.
HANNA: No. That's a good point.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: I never heard about that. It looks just like a cantaloupe, doesn't it.
KING: Yes. In other words, if you put down, you go into the market, you feel around, you take home an armadillo.
(LAUGHTER) KING: And the wife likes it. Tastes good, cooks up...
HANNA: No, but you...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: ... a little armadillo soup.
HANNA: Right. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) cooking, though. That's what they do in South America, they -- in Brazil. They cook them like a taco. They actually -- I don't eat them, but they actually cook them right there in the fire like a taco.
But that's his head right there. See his little armor-plated head there? Now, when he unfolds, he has little feet like this. And their hearing is unbelievable. Their hearing is some of the best of any animal in the world. Their eyesight's very poor. And they have little claws on their feet, but they can dig very well.
We could leave him right here, and he might open up in just a second. I'm not sure. We'll just leave him there just a second. We'll leave him there until we come back. Maybe he'll open up.
KING: OK. Stay around.
We'll take a break, and we'll be back with more, show you more scenes coming. And still to come in the next segment, for the first time on television, live -- or on tape for tonight -- Peanut Butter and Jelly, the conjoined tortoises separated by the magic of medicine. You'll meet them right here next.
Come out. Come out!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back. Don't forget Jack Hanna's new book is "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach Us About Parenting."
Two African leopard tortoises, Peanut Butter and Jelly, were successfully separated. They're named Peanut Butter and Jelly because you can't have one without the other. The operation took three hours at the University Animal Hospital in Tempe, Arizona. They were joined at the side of the belly, near the tail end. One always had to be on its back. They're extremely rare. Their owners are Sharon and Bob Ehasz, right?
SHARON EHASZ, OWNER OF CONJOINED TORTOISES: Yes.
KING: Both of you are graduates of the Air Force Academy, right?
SHARON EHASZ: Correct.
BOB EHASZ, OWNER OF CONJOINED TORTOISES: We are.
KING: Did you meet there?
SHARON EHASZ: We did.
KING: Are you now in the Air Force?
SHARON EHASZ: We are.
HANNA: That's neat.
KING: What rank?
SHARON EHASZ: First lieutenant.
BOB EHASZ: I'm a first lieutenant also, soon to be captain.
KING: Well, now, how did you get involved with these tortoises? Can we put them down?
SHARON EHASZ: Certainly.
HANNA: This is a neat story.
SHARON EHASZ: I'm going to tell my version first...
KING: Go ahead.
SHARON EHASZ: ... because it's the correct one, so you better hear that one first. We have other tortoises. And while I was still a cadet and my husband graduated active duty, he wanted to get a tortoise. And my response was, A rock with legs. Why do we want tortoises versus dogs? So we got our first two tortoises, Simon and Garfunkel. And it's grown since then. And we decided that we had had enough tortoises, didn't need any more, until he found them on the Internet and was upset that they were being sold essentially to a freak show market.
KING: Because they were...
SHARON EHASZ: Correct.
BOB EHASZ: Abnormal.
SHARON EHASZ: Correct.
KING: ... conjoined.
SHARON EHASZ: Correct.
HANNA: Can you show us how they were -- is there a picture?
KING: We have a picture. We'll put it up on screen.
HANNA: OK. All right. But show us here how they -- show us -- put them together, like they were joined. This is amazing.
BOB EHASZ: They basically were joined at the stomach, just like this, so one of them was always upside down, no matter what we did. So when you turn him over -- so you can see their little patch. HANNA: Oh, that's where they operated?
SHARON EHASZ: Correct.
HANNA: Golly!
SHARON EHASZ: They put a gauze with five-minute epoxy over it to seal the shell. And eventually according to our veterinarian, Dr. Jarko (ph), they will actually grow their shell back underneath the patch.
HANNA: Really? So they're going to be all right?
SHARON EHASZ: We're hoping.
HANNA: Now, did he have his -- were the intestines connected, or what was connected?
BOB EHASZ: Actually, both tortoises had their own small intestines, but they both ran into PB, who had the only large intestine. So J...
KING: Peanut Butter.
BOB EHASZ: Peanut Butter, yes. And J right now, Jelly, is the one who does not have a large intestine. So he already is living on borrowed time. He is doing incredibly well.
HANNA: Golly!
BOB EHASZ: He has already confounded science.
HANNA: That's -- that's...
KING: And you paid for this?
BOB EHASZ: Actually, no. Dr. Jim Jarko and Dr. Jay Johnson (ph)...
KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) donated?
BOB EHASZ: ... of Phoenix...
SHARON EHASZ: Donated their time.
BOB EHASZ: ... donated their time and services and...
KING: How long did the operation take?
BOB EHASZ: Five hours, actually, closer to six.
HANNA: What a neat thing to do, though, for -- I mean, to see animals being sold as freaks, and then you take them and both of you cared to do that -- that's tremendous.
KING: I salute you both. HANNA: Yes.
SHARON EHASZ: Thank you.
BOB EHASZ: God gave humans dominion over the animals, and we're going to take care of them.
SHARON EHASZ: Yes.
KING: Thank you.
HANNA: That's tremendous.
KING: Salute you guys.
HANNA: Peanut Butter and Jelly. All right.
KING: That's great.
HANNA: Let me know. Keep me informed how they do.
SHARON EHASZ: Certainly will.
KING: Sharon and Bob Ehasz, thank you.
SHARON EHASZ: Thank you.
KING: Peanut Butter and Jelly. They brought them all the way here from Tempe for this show tonight. We're going to see a few -- Oh! Speaking of...
HANNA: Wowee!
KING: We just saw Peanut Butter and Jelly.
HANNA: Now, what -- this is the...
KING: How about this? This is meatloaf!
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: A cicada (ph) tortoise. Larry, you have the Galapagos tortoise -- hey, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) one of the boys. Come here. Will one of the boys come here?
KING: Chance, come here.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: All right, Cannon, come on!
HANNA: Come over here and see (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Come over here. Come over here. Come over here. I'll let you hold the tortoise. Come here. Come up here and see Jungle Jack. Look at this. I want you to sit up here.
KING: Look at -- look at the...
HANNA: Look at this. Stand up there. Now, look how -- kneel down. Can you kneel there, Chance?
KING: Kneel down, Chance.
HANNA: Chance, kneel here.
KING: Cannon, kneel down on your knees.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: Now, look at the size of this tortoise, Larry, next to your son. You see -- what I'm trying to compare -- isn't that amazing? Touch him. You can touch him. This is his house. See, what a lot of people don't know is that this tortoise -- this is his home, OK? This is his home. He lives in here, OK? And this is a little one. This is a little one here. Now, these tortoises, Larry -- you have the Galapagos tortoise. You know the Galapagos Islands? That's the world's largest tortoise. They weigh 500, 600 pounds. Then you have the Aldabra tortoise from Africa, which weighs about 300 pounds.
And then this is the third largest tortoise in the world, Cannon, third largest. Isn't that something? Here, you can hold this one. This is just a little one. Now, do you know the difference between a tortoise and a turtle? All right. A tortoise lives on land. A turtle lives in the water. Isn't that amazing?
KING: Can you hold it, Cannon?
HANNA: Put your hand underneath him. Put your -- you don't want him to fall. That's it. Oh, good. See how gentle he is? That is good. Isn't that nice?
KING: You like him?
HANNA: Do you have pets at home? You do?
KING: No you don't. What do you have?
CANNON KING: I have a dog.
KING: No, you don't!
(LAUGHTER)
CANNON KING: I don't.
KING: You wish you had a dog.
HANNA: Yes. Jungle Jack's going to take care of that, OK? Jungle Jack's going to get you gerbils and all sorts of fish and birds...
KING: Oh, yes. HANNA: ... and your father, Larry, and you mom will just love Jungle Jack. He'll have your house looking like a menagerie in no time. OK?
KING: OK, Cannon.
HANNA: He's excited. OK. Now Larry's going to stop us. I can see now.
KING: OK. Let's bring on the bullfrog. Thank you, Cannon.
HANNA: He's great! Did you see that -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that thing weighs -- that thing weighs, Larry, over -- about 100-and- something pounds.
KING: Cannon, you're on your way to stardom. Uh-oh, the bullfrog!
HANNA: This is the African frog, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
HANNA: Look at this thing, Larry. This thing is -- look at the size of this thing. Isn't that beautiful?
KING: Whoa, that's beautiful.
HANNA: See, look at -- look at -- a lot of times, they blow themselves up with air, Larry, to make themselves look bigger, so nothing will bother them. See here? Now, they wouldn't win a jumping contest. These aren't good jumpers, like a lot of frogs are. This is the African toad, right? What is...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bullfrog.
HANNA: African bullfrog, Larry. African bullfrog. I think these -- do these eat fish and mice and stuff?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Birds.
HANNA: Birds. Everything, Larry. This is not like some little thing that eats -- like, eats worms. This thing eats birds, whatever he can get ahold of. Look at the stomach here. Look at this. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) see that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Isn't that amazing?
KING: Whoa! It feels like it's going to fall apart.
HANNA: Exactly. It's not, though. Again, this is -- real quickly, one thing we can tell what's happening to our planet -- when I was a little boy, Larry, we had a lot of salamanders, frogs and everything. Today we've lost 40 percent of all amphibians in this country, 40 percent, Larry, in the last 50 years.
KING: And now we will meet the chameleon.
HANNA: There we go. Thank you so much. KING: Is a chameleon what we call -- oh, does this change colors and...
HANNA: Now, what kind of chameleon is this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
HANNA: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
HANNA: Yes, Madagascar. Look at this.
KING: Look at this!
HANNA: This is gorgeous. I never had one of these on there. Look at that. A veiled chameleon from Madagascar.
KING: Now, what does it do? What does it, change colors?
HANNA: It will change colors. Right now, it's not going to because it's obviously still on a tree that it's very comfortable with right now. But look, if that isn't prehistoric, Larry, tell me what is. Madagascar has some of the most fascinating -- look at the eyes there. I don't think you can get that on the TV there or not, on the screen there. If you can see these eyes of this animal moving around. These eyes rotate.
I'm going to hold him very still here. Let me see if they can get an eye shot here. Now, you see the eyes? Or have I got to -- has he opened his eyes? There we go.
KING: Now, the changing colors is also a defense mechanism?
HANNA: Yes. Very, very good. Yes, the trees. Now, he's not moving his eyes much now, but the whole eyeball rotates. I don't know if you see it or not. The whole eyeball rotates on this animal. See that? Look at that.
KING: If you put it up against those colored dots, would it change colors?
HANNA: Yes. Not necessarily. Sometimes it can't change the whole color, but it'll turn brown. I've seen these actually go from this color to total brown, almost.
KING: Wow.
HANNA: Look at those eyes move, though. Look at that. See how the whole eye moves. Because you can imagine, Larry,, if you had eyes on each side of your head -- our eyes are in the front of our heads. By the way, the owl -- I didn't tell you about that. The owl has to move his head because he cannot move his eyes. But this poor animal -- can you imagine this way and this way? Can't look forward, like you and me.
KING: Couldn't be a pilot.
HANNA: Yes. No, couldn't be a pilot.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Although you couldn't be hit -- you couldn't be blind- sided.
HANNA: That is beautiful.
KING: OK, let's get in one more in this segment, and then we have our final segment coming. And this is a Tegu lizard.
HANNA: Tegu.
KING: Tegu lizard.
HANNA: Yes. From South America.
KING: Whoa!
HANNA: Now, the Tegu, Larry, is very much noted for finding out where birds are and duck eggs. These animals love eggs. That's what the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) The Tegu lizard is an animal -- they grow to be about twice this big, is all. You saw the monitor lizard. This is called the Tegu lizard, and similar tongue. See the tongue there? Similar to the other animal's tongue. But obviously, the other one's much browner. This is much dark. It doesn't get as big as the monitor lizard. Same type of claws, Larry. You have lizards like this all over the world, in most continents, obviously, except Antarctica and toward the North Pole, where you don't have them.
KING: Are they made into clothing and stuff?
HANNA: Yes.
KING: Yes.
HANNA: They sure are. Yes.
KING: You feel it.
HANNA: You feel it. See the beads there?
KING: Yes.
HANNA: Belts, shoes...
KING: Beautiful.
HANNA: ... that type of thing.
KING: All right, we'll take a break and be back with our remaining moments with Jack Hanna of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures," the book, "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach Us About Parenting." And we thank Peanut Butter and Jelly for this exclusive appearance. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with our remaining moments. Chance has finally made an appearance. He has agreed to appear. Thank you, Chance. Say, You're welcome.
HANNA: He took a chance.
CHANCE KING: You're welcome.
KING: OK. And Cannon, of course, returns with Jack Hanna, the fearless one.
HANNA: I have three daughters, you know, and I've always wanted to hold a little boy. But I got a grandson, Blake. He...
KING: Look at this! What is this?
HANNA: Oh, yes. Look at this here. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Let's look at -- bring this around this side, so we...
KING: OK, what is this?
HANNA: This is the bearded dragon.
KING: The bearded dragon.
HANNA: Yes. Now, look at this. Look at this.
KING: It's not a big dragon.
HANNA: No, it's not, but look at this. It's called a bearded dragon. Aren't they neat?
KING: Look at him!
HANNA: Where are these from, David?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're from Australia.
HANNA: Australia. Now, look at this. You can touch him. You don't want to touch him? OK. You don't have to. They're a nice animal, aren't they.
KING: Touch him. He feels nice.
HANNA: Isn't that a -- a different-looking animal? Look at this.
CHANCE KING: Ouch! My (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
KING: What hurts?
CHANCE KING: It's too tight, my belt.
HANNA: Oh, the belt is tight.
KING: Your belt is too tight.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: OK.
HANNA: I don't blame you. That -- those things happen when you're with animals.
KING: You like this?
HANNA: See? Look at this here.
KING: Say hello to the dragon.
CHANCE KING: Hello, dragon.
HANNA: Puff the magic dragon, you heard of that? (SINGING) Puff the magic dragon...
KING: (SINGING) -- lived by the sea, and wallowed in the autumn...
HANNA: See, my kids are all grown. Your kids are just starting.
KING: All right, let's meet the blue-tongued skink.
HANNA: Yes, blue-tongued skink. Look at this. This is Australia, too, right, David? This is a blue tongue. See? It's got a blue tongue, this one here. You want to touch him?
KING: He has a blue tongue?
HANNA: You can touch him. You can touch this one. It's like a snake. See there?
KING: You want to touch him? No.
CANNON KING: Can I see his tongue?
HANNA: Yes. See there?
KING: Can I see his tongue? Look at that!
CANNON KING: Blue!
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: Blue. Exactly. That's -- look at that -- look at that shot! Is that something? Look at that. Oh, good shot (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Wow, look at that.
KING: Blue and red.
HANNA: Isn't that beautiful? Therefore, a blue-tongued skink. CANNON KING: Can I feel?
HANNA: Yes.
KING: Oh, look at that, Cannon. Cannon, you want to touch him?
HANNA: You can touch him.
KING: Are you thinking about it? Want to touch him?
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Oh, he's going to touch him.
HANNA: Good guy. There we go. That's good.
CHANCE KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) no germs?
HANNA: No germs.
KING: What? No germs.
HANNA: No, no. Larry, that's a good question, though, because folks who are watching at home -- that's very good because a lot of times they have these iguanas and these lizards and stuff, and they carry salmonella. Very good question. Very good question.
KING: Chance, he says you're right about germs.
HANNA: Right. Now, look at this, boys. Have you ever seen an animal with so many legs?
KING: Look at all his legs!
HANNA: Look at this. Millipede. Look at them all move.
CANNON KING: What is it?
HANNA: It's a millipede.
CANNON KING: It's got so many legs.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: Can you imagine shopping for shoes?
CANNON KING: Put him down!
HANNA: OK, put him down.
KING: Look at all his -- look at -- he's walking.
HANNA: We'll get him all warmed up here.
KING: Is that another one?
HANNA: Now, look at this, Larry. You see this liquid they're leaving here?
KING: Yes.
HANNA: That's, like, an arsenic-type liquid. I'm serious. You want to wash your fingers.
KING: OK.
HANNA: But he won't kill you.
KING: I won't touch it.
HANNA: No, but -- let's see if he'll start crawling here. There he goes. Look at -- look at those legs!
KING: There he goes!
HANNA: Beautiful shot. Look at that. Now, look at that. Is that amazing? This is "National Geographic" all over. Oh, wow! Man, "National Geographic"...
(CROSSTALK)
CANNON KING: Is that a little one?
HANNA: Yes. Yes. It's a little one. Now, let's see what happens. Look at -- oh, look at him going! Look at that! It's like a train! Look at that! Look at that! And then -- hey, look here. You want to put a cockroach on your shirt? No, you can. Look here. Look at J.J.
CANNON KING: No! No!
HANNA: OK, you don't have to. You don't have to.
KING: Look at the cockroaches.
HANNA: They're cockroaches. They're from Madagascar, too. These are cockroaches. Aren't they nice? Here, these are females here. They're smaller. See these here? These are female cockroaches.
KING: He's leaving...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: This is a male cockroach. Whoops!
KING: Look at him go!
HANNA: Look at this! Isn't that something? I used to have cockroach races. There he goes!
(CROSSTALK)
KING: ... gone! HANNA: That's too bad. Now, Larry...
KING: You going to go get him?
HANNA: Want to go get him?
KING: No. All right. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) We're going to close the show.
HANNA: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) You want to -- look -- hold the cockroach. You don't want him?
KING: You don't want to? All right. We're going to say good night now, OK?
CHANCE KING: Good night.
KING: No!
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Thank Jack for coming. Say, Thank you, Jack.
CHANCE KING: Thank you, Jack.
HANNA: OK.
KING: Say, Thank you, Jack.
CANNON KING: Thank you, Jack.
HANNA: OK.
KING: That was Jack Hanna of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures," assisted by Chance and Cannon. We had Sharon and Bobby with Peanut Butter and Jelly. The new book is "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach Us About Parenting."
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: And zoo to you (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
KING: OK, say good night.
CHANCE KING: Good night.
HANNA: Good night. I'll have your animals up to your house before dinner, all right?
KING: No thanks.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: ood night, everybody. Stay tuned for "NEWSNIGHT" next. 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 August 17, 2004 - 21:00 Â ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, HOST: Woah.
Tonight, Jack is back. Jack Hanna, the world renowned animal expert is here, with all sorts of exotic critters, even a couple that used to be conjoined twins. It's a jungle out there, in here too. Jack Hanna, and his amazing animals, a couple of kids too, here for the hour next on LARRY KING LIVE.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: It's always a great pleasure to welcome Jack Hanna to LARRY KING LIVE. The host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventure," seen in the United States and more than 60 countries around the world. He's director emeritus at the Columbus zoo and co-author of a new book, "Wild About Babies: what the animals teach us about parenting."
Before we meet all of the animals what do animals teach us?
JACK HANNA, DIRECTOR EMERITUS OF COLUMBUS ZOO: You know, Larry, they teach a great deal. For example, a mother gorilla, just like a human would do has a baby. We had the only twin gorillas ever born in the world. We talk about that in the book. How the gorilla's were born and how she had a hard time -- difficulty caring for the other one, because no one after seen twin gorillas. It's the first ones ever born in a zoological situation.
Or the giraffe for example. When a mother has a baby giraffe, she has the baby giraffe and it falls six feet to the ground. And you sit there and say, oh my gosh, and then she -- the mother protects it by having it stand underneath her.
And there are also a lot of sayings in there by Harvis Housing (ph). There's a lot of sayings in there about how we can care for babies. How we can learn a lot from the animal world. It's what I've always said, the animal world can teach us a great deal. You know, animals don't abuse their young. Animals don't really kill unnecessarily. They don't waste food or their resources. So we as humans can learn a lot from the animal world. That's what it teaches us in this book.
KING: But the young separate a lot from animals -- from their parents, right? HANNA: Well, they do -- they do a lot quicker a lot of times, yes. But now a gorilla is just like a human baby, for example.
KING: Really.
HANNA: Oh yes. They're totally helpless the first probably, two, three years of life.
KING: Really.
HANNA: But then again a giraffe, the minute it hits the ground, that's when it's more susceptible to a lion or leopard or cheetah, because that animal has got such long legs, if that animal is not walking -- the zebra, giraffe, if the babies aren't walking within, lets say, two hours they're history. That's nature.
KING: All right. We'll be talking a lot about it. The book is "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach us About Parenting"
And now we meet our first animal of the night.
HANNA: This is an animal I've never had on, Larry. This is a fishing cat from Asia.
KING: It's OK. It's all right. I like water on my head.
An Asian fishing cat.
HANNA: Now watch this, Larry. Look at this. How many cats have you seen go in the water like this. I've never done this on any show ever before.
KING: I can tell.
HANNA: But the Asian fishing cat, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) this is from Zoo To You. There are only about 160, Larry, in the world. In the world in the SSP, the Species Survival Plan.
KING: What a cat!
HANNA: Not only what cat. You have see this cat swim underwater. We've been actually to Asia and seen -- very rarely, we're very lucky, seen this cat fishing, pulling in ducks -- ducks swing in the water and they pull the ducks from underneath. They swim underneath the duck and grab the duck and pull him down. You need -- You need to understand something. You won't ever see one of these ever again. These animals are so rare, I'm sorry.
KING: I won't see one ever again and it won't be too soon. OK. All right. What a way to begin.
HANNA: OK, we'll take the Asian fishing cat. But Larry, it's one of the most endangered cats in the world, if not the most endangered cat in the world.
KING: I know why, Jack! What's next?
HANNA: This animal, this is vervet monkey.
Now, you've got to go on safari with me some day.
KING: Oh, I'm big on safaris.
HANNA: I know I can tell. Chaia King, went with me once.
KING: She went to Africa.
HANNA: Right. She loved it. And she saw these. This coming a little closer. This is vervet monkey.
KING: Wow!
HANNA: And the vervet monkey, Larry, they're in troops of 50 to 100 to 200. As a matter fact, these vervet monkeys actually, took my underwear three-years-ago in Botswana. I had my underwear and socks laid out drying and I came back from filming and all my close were gone. The monkeys had it on top of their heads in the trees and swinging around with all my close. And there main way of surviving is in large numbers. Some animals are solitary as you know. But this animal travels in 50 to 100 to 200 in a troupe. It's called a vervet monkey. Some people call them a blue monkey, by the way.
Now the fennecs fox, is the smallest fox in the world, this from northern Africa. There are different foxes, there's the gray fox, the red fox, the arctic fox. All sorts of foxes. This is the smallest fox, full grown, about six years old. You notice the ears.
What some people don't realize about this fennec fox is those ears, Larry, are not only used for hearing insects, but also like an elephant has big ears -- the zoo, when you go to the zoo like Los Angeles, where ever it is, Columbus, you see them waving their ears. And that acts as a radiator to keep them cool. There are a lot of blood vessels in there. So in the desert like an elephant waves those things like a radiator to keep the animal cool. Same thing with the big ear on this animal. But's the small fox in the world. They're mainly nocturnal. And again, they live in burrows. They are a solitary creature, only come around during breeding season. Again, very, very -- you can see how big it is. Just nothing.
KING: Beautiful.
HANNA: Now this spider monkey has a story, Larry. This spider monkey is injured. Zoo To You does a great job in rehabilitating a lot of animals. The game and fish in the state of California found this in the dumpster. Someone had a -- this is what we try and tell people. Everybody watching the show sees the animals as nice little pets and cute and cuddly.
Wild animals are dangerous. You and I talked about it, they're like a loaded gun. They can go off any time. Someone had this as a pet, probably bit him. Who knows how -- also by the way, you can see his legs, how it wasn't even fed the right food, therefore it did not develop correctly. I'll let you hold him. Didn't develop correctly, and the animal cannot walk or anything. But the Zoo To You now cares for this animal and teaches kids about spider monkey, they're from South America.
KING: They're called spider because...
HANNA: They just look like a spider. They swing in the tree, they have long legs.
KING: That could be Spider-Man.
HANNA: It could, that's probably what Spider-Man would have. See look at this. See how he loves to be groomed?
KING: OK, a few more in this segment. Lots more to come with Jack Hanna.
Let's meet the South American porcupine.
HANNA: One stand over there. One porcupine over there.
KING: And the North American porcupine.
HANNA: Now look at this, Larry. This is -- we'll start with this one first. This is the South American porcupine, the prehensile tail porcupine. David's got his...
KING: Woah. Geez!
HANNA: Look at this Larry. Look at this. Let me show you something. You can see now -- you can the barb exploded here. Porcupine's do not throw their quills. When you are stuck with a porcupine quill -- I had a guy that worked for me get stuck last year in his kneecap, had to have surgery. You cannot pull them out. It's almost impossible. That's how their means of defense these animals have. Now, that's why they're wearing these gloves. Here's another one right here in his arm back here.
This is the North American porcupine over here. Now the quills, they rattle their quills if they are being alarmed.
KING: That's totally for protection?
HANNA: Yes. And they'll rattle them if they are upset with you. If you go (UNINTELLIGIBLE) like a cougar or dog and go up to a porcupine and try to attack it, you're going to get those porcupine quills in your face and you'll become infected and you'll die of an infection, usually.
See now look at this, Larry. Look at this. I'm pulling as hard as and I can and I can't even get those two out. Look at that. That's why the animal can't get them out of his face or his paws or whatever it is. The only way to kill one is the cougar would have to turn the animal over under it's belly. It's very, very, very soft under here. Very, very, soft under there. And therefore, they have to attack and eat them under there.
KING: A cougar eats a porcupine?
HANNA: Yes, a cougar.
KING: No taste, right? They don't care?
HANNA: No they are starving, I mean, that's not starving, that's what they hunt in the wild. And this is a North American...
KING: They can't a trust a cougar.
HANNA: They eat -- they eat barks and leaves and that's what mainly vegetation.
KING: All right, going to get a break. Jack Hanna is the host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures." The book is "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach us About Parenting."
Lots more to come. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with Jack Hanna. Don't forget his new book "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach us About Parenting."
He's also the host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures" and the director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, and he's probably, I guess the most famous zoologist there is.
HANNA: I don't know about famous. I'm a character that just likes to teach people about the animal world.
KING: And you love animals. You trust animals.
HANNA: I respect the animals. I trust animals from the standpoint everyone -- as I explained to you before about the kind of animals I've worked with, if you respect an animal, and you usually, usually won't get harmed but you never know. I can't say something won't happen tomorrow. We put safety first with everything we do.
KING: All right. Let's meet our next animal.
HANNA: This is a black and white lemur. That's what this is?
KING: This is not Larry the lemur.
HANNA: No, this is Larry's cousin. This lemur here...
KING: Can he go on the thing?
HANNA: The lemur as we discussed before is the beautiful creature from Madagascar, off the coast of East Africa, it's an island, and these animals are really going into extinction. It's very, very endangered. He loves my water, that's great. This animal, because the loss of the rain forest and the loss of timbers in that part of the world is threatened right now and most of them are all endangered. There are about 28 species left. There are all sorts of lemurs. The ringtail lemur, this is the black and white rough lemur. And this is another type of lemur.
KING: The brown lemur.
Wait a minute! Are these two lemurs friends?
HANNA: Sometimes. You better hold that lemur. This is the brown lemur here. You can see, Larry. Can he do that noise again? Make him do it.
KING: That's a funny noise.
HANNA: It's a very funny noise, but they live in a social group. They're very, very social. They live in large troupes as well again. As far as predators, man is their greatest predator. Every animal has a predator, but man is these animals' greatest predator by cutting the rain forest and that kind of thing.
KING: What does man do to them?
HANNA: Well, basically take all their forest down, number one. Number two, they use a lot of these for coats, for headdresses, that type of thing.
KING: I liked lemurs. Where is Larry the lemur? In Columbus?
HANNA: He's doing pretty good but this I'm sure his cousin. By the way, Larry, this is a presimion (ph). This is pre-monkey and pre- ape. This is not a monkey. It's pre-monkey, pre-ape, very, very ancient and type of old world monkey. And their tails again are used for balance as well as locating their mates when they're in the forest and the grasslands.
KING: What are the first known animals? Dinosaurs?
HANNA: I'd say dinosaurs, yes, and things in the ocean that evolved and came out of the oceans as well. Look at these hands. You see here? Opposing thumbs. Look at that little hand there. Isn't that amazing? Look at this. Beautiful shot.
KING: Beautiful.
HANNA: And these animals are mainly fruit eaters, leaf eaters, insect eaters, little snakes, that type of thing. They are magnificent creatures.
KING: We should also say they're not pets.
HANNA: Nothing you see today are pets. These are all people who worked all their lives to raise these animals and use them as educational tools to teach people about the animal world. KING: By the way, we have an exclusive coming later, don't turn out because there were two tortoises born attached like Siamese twins and they were separated by a doctor and we have an exclusive tonight. They're named Peanut Butter and Jelly and they'll be with us later. Exclusive.
HANNA: Now, Larry, this is an animal called a Kinkajou. And I'm sorry to say that back in the '60s and early '70s, a lot of pet shops and I had a pet shop when I started this business, but I never sold a Kinkajou. I had them at my place here but the Kinkajous were almost taken out of the wild for a lot of pets because you can see how they'd be a nice pet. This animal is a nocturnal animal. They're from central South America. They only come out at nighttime and it's called a Kinkajou, or a honey bear, because look at the beautiful honey coat on it. They do actually a lot of times eat a lot of insects and bugs and they love honey.
KING: So what do they do all day?
HANNA: Sleep all day. That's mainly what -- nocturnal animals will sleep.
KING: What happened to the wife?
A little joke!
HANNA: Why would they sleep all day? Because obviously you can see the defense mechanisms on this animal aren't that great. He doesn't have big teeth so he wouldn't be able to protect himself against eagles, jaguars, and ocelots in central South America. They're difficult to spot when we film these animals in the wild. It's called a Kinkajou or honey bear, the tail allows the animal to live up in the tree tops and hold himself by the tail.
KING: They go right up trees, right?
HANNA: Exactly. They can reach down and grab another piece of fruit or insect or whatever it might be to eat.
KING: Where are they found?
HANNA: Central and South America. Called the Kinkajou or honey bear.
KING: Now the baboon with the grapes.
HANNA: These are hamadryas baboons.
KING: Hey! Hey! Hey!
HANNA: He's all right.
KING: How do you know he's all right. Maybe he's got a headache. Maybe he don't like Jewish guys.
HANNA: No. These baboons were confiscated by someone who tried to have these as pets and these are not pets whatsoever. They can bite.
See what he does? Look at his pouch. Look at this. It's a perfect example of how much food these animals can just eat.
KING: He puts them in his pouch?
HANNA: Exactly. He stores all that food in there. They're from northern Africa. They actually live on cliffs. Larry -- you hear that scream? That's one alarming scream and he's telling us to stay away. They live in cliffs and they live in 200, 300 troupes. The bigger baboons like the Olive (ph) baboons can take down a lion if they want to. If you have a sick lion and you get about 25 or 50 of these huge baboons, like I've seen in Africa recently, they will take down some animal that you wouldn't think they could do it.
That's a communication there. He's just telling you. I hope it's all right if he can run around in here. Come here, come here.
KING: Baboons know me which is not a good sign when you think about it.
HANNA: The key to these animals, Larry, very, very social. Grooming skills. These two can be raised together and these people had the animals and didn't know what to do with them and what they'll end up doing is they'll end up biting. Also baboons and other animals like this can carry hepatitis. They can actually carry certain diseases that we can contract.
KING: So be careful.
HANNA: You don't want to have them as pets.
KING: Back with more of Jack Hanna as we go to break. We'll remind you that you'll see scenes of upcoming things that are going to occur as well. We taped the show earlier for broadcast. tonight, lots more surprises, too. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with Jack Hanna of Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures. The author of "Wild About Babies, What The Animals Teach Us About Parenting." My wife has also asked me to remind you, I was kidding when I said she sleeps all day.
HANNA: We've seen your beautiful wife. We know she doesn't sleep. With all those kids...
KING: That was just like a joke I threw in. I should have thrown another penalty of bringing a lemur home.
HANNA: When you read "All about Babies" you'll know what (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
KING: Because I'm treated like one. No! Only a joke! What do we have now?
HANNA: This animal here, Larry.
KING: The cobra.
HANNA: He flairs his head to make him look larger and there are spitting cobras.
KING: What would happen if it bit you?
HANNA: I don't know. It's neurotoxic.
KING: What does that mean?
HANNA: Neurotoxic means it affects the nervous system, the breathing organism. Hematoxic is a rattlesnake which affects the blood system.
Tell them about this thing real quick.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure, that's a monocled cobra, that's an albino monocled. They get about five feet. They're from India. This snake here is a female, so she's a little bit heavy bodied. The snake here as has the neurotoxic venom that can kill -- a couple of an ounces can kill an animal the size of the elephant.
KING: OK, remove the cobra.
Uh-oh.
HANNA: Oh, this is neat here, Larry. This is...
KING: Oh, yes, neat. This is a black-throated monitor.
HANNA: Yes, people ask all of the time what do a lot of animals eat. I'm going to let you feed him a rat, all right.
KING: No, no, no!
You feed him the rat.
HANNA: A lot of these animals -- a lot of these animals, Larry, eat different ways. He's not hungry right now. But you see that tongue, Larry? I want to show that tongue -- that tongue is used for heat sensor like a snake. That's what they feel with. That's what they hunt with. Look at this, isn't that beautiful?
This is a black monitor. We just got through seeing one of these, by the way, in Tanzania in Kenya. We were filming the "Great Migration on animals adventures" over there, and we saw a huge one like this, Larry, over in that part of the world. This tail here is used to slap its prey and injure its prey if it can. But the main thing it does, it grabs like -- anything you can imagine, small mammals, rats, rabbits. Anything that's small like that.
Look at those claws. Those claws, also Larry, can dig real quick, let them climb trees real quick. And they can claw quick as well. Isn't that tongue -- there's a shot. A beautiful shot of the tongue.
KING: Whoa!
HANNA: But that's a perfect example, Larry, of what snakes and lizards have. They're cold-blooded by the way too.
KING: All right. Good-bye! Good-bye!
HANNA: If you felt him, Larry, he would feel cool to you, because they are cold blooded. You're 98.6, a reptile has to be the outside temperature or what the outside temperature is. They can't control the temperature.
KING: And now we meet the American alligator, I believe.
HANNA: Now, the American alligator...
KING: The American alligator.
HANNA: Right. Now this is a pretty big alligator, so we are going to put him right up here.
KING: OK, let's move this. Oh boy! Oh, boy!
HANNA: Now that's a big alligator.
When we were filming in Thailand several years ago, the largest crocodile I saw was 21 feet and weighed over 2,000 pounds. These alligators can only get to be 10 or 12 feet and maybe, 1,500, 1,800 pounds. This is a perfect of folks of the Endangered Species Act. Back in the '60s, you remember Florida, alligators were going downhill steadily. Almost in going in -- they were endangered, almost extinction.
Today there are tens of thousands of gator have all come back right now. But you've got to be careful of alligators hunt with vibration, not with necessary smell. They feel -- if you're in the water kicking at night time, swimming, I don't advise it if there are alligators around, because they feel can feel that vibration and they go after that vibration.
They cannot chew, they grab their prey, pull them below the water, drown their prey and they just kind of rip them apart. But we've actually done research on the gator, and we found like rubber tires, pieces of wood, cans, anything in them to fill them up. Their brain is very small, they are they are prehistoric.
If your playing golf. Do you play golf? I don't play golf.
KING: No, I don't.
HANNA: And you see guys with a golf ball laying here, you see him on the golf course, he walked right up to it. The gator knows you're there, all right, so he takes his tail and he moves his head -- if you can pick his tail up and move it this way. And he moves his head the same way. And Larry, it happens -- it happens like three frames. There are 17 frames a second I think in TV. This happens in 3 frames, like that. And he slaps his tail and knocks you towards his head, and then takes you in the water. And this is just -- these animal, though, are not as far as to be feared it self, unless you have a youngster or dog or something. My advice is I just wouldn't go out at nighttime and run around where the gators are.
KING: Good idea.
HANNA: Yes.
This right here -- is this the little crocodile? This little crocodile. You see right here, Larry, the difference almost.
KING: This is a crocodile?
This is a killer?
HANNA: Well, this is a baby crocodile.
KING: Oh! This is cute!
HANNA: But you see the difference, Larry, in the nose. You see that pointed nose on this?
Now, these animals get a lot larger than gators, In Australia where Steve Irwin and all these guys work, these guys get to be anywhere from 17 to 20 feet long. They're huge. This just a little baby, probably about a year old.
And also by the way, crocodile and alligators are egg layers -- like a bird. They lay about 30, 40 eggs, put big mulch over the top and these little things hatch about this big when they're first hatched. And they're very good mother, too, by the way, the crocodiles.
KING: Uh-oh, I see something coming.
HANNA: Now, this right here, Larry, this right here is something you don't want to...
KING: This is a rattlesnake?
HANNA: Yes. And people ought to know about this, Larry, this is a rattlesnake. We'll keep that away from, Larry.
KING: Good thinking!
HANNA: Yes. Watch out, just move your arm. This arm. These animals are hemotoxic snakes, Larry. And the rattlesnake will usually warn you by rattling that rattler. He won't jump on me, will he?
You can see the rattle back here. I don't know if he can show you this or not. I'll let him hold there. If you want to hold the head. KING: He rattles like a baby rattler.
HANNA: If they can here this at home. You hear that?
It goes a lot faster than that. You see the rattles. Let me hold the rattles up so people can see these. This is what you are warned with. It goes real fast -- a lot faster than this, Larry, when they're really active and upset. And that's what you -- the rattlesnake is telling you to stay away from it. They usually, Larry, can jump a about body length and a half when they strike. A lot of bites, are dry bites especially in the summer. In the spring time when the rattlesnakes have been hibernating out west in the winter, they're full of venom. So, when they come out in spring and you're bitten, you probably have a wet bite.
KING: Let's get quickly. We got to get -- we got to move through. Let's get the python.
Why from here? Why from here? Bring him from there.
HANNA: Go that way. Go behind them.
KING: Go behind me!
HANNA: Go behind, Larry, that's it. That's it.
KING: You sure this is career builder?
HANNA: Here we go, put his head up here. That's it.
KING: Oh, boy.
HANNA: Come here buddy, come here. Come here buddy, come here. Come here.
KING: Chance, Cannon, want to come over and play? No.
My two little sons are here.
HANNA: You can see, Larry, this, is a very large snake.
KING: He's OK. He's over here.
HANNA: The constrict -- this is a constrictor, Larry. It's not a poisonous snake like that last two that we had on.
KING: Not a poison snake.
HANNA: No. They have 220 teeth. We can see his head out. Try to pull his head around. He has 220 teeth shaped like fish hooks. And when those teeth are up in his jaw, so he bites, the teeth come out of the of the jaw muscles and he holds on. What you have to do, Larry, is you can't jerk your hand away, because if you do, you'll lose whatever it is. Because these teeth are inside.
Do one of the boys want to touch his tail. KING: Cannon wants to touch it.
HANNA: Come around the back Cannon. Come around this way. I'll let you hold his tail. Here. Jump on the desk here. Come here jungle Jack. Come here.
KING: Come to Jack. Come to jack!
HANNA: Come up here. Come, get in my lap, that's a boy. And go and pet him. He's not going to hurt you. That's good.
KING: Pet him again.
HANNA: Pet him again. He's fun. See there, he's not bad, is he?
KING: You like him?
HANNA: Don't you like him?
KING: Let's give him a name.
HANNA: Huh?
KING: Lucky.
HANNA: Yes, Lucky.
KING: Lucky the snake.
HANNA: I know, they'll be like siting, do you want to get off my lap? OK, I don't blame you. But these animals, Larry, can get 20-22 feet long.
He was brave. That was pretty good for a little boy.
KING: You're not kidding, because Chance is out of the building and he's on cawinga (ph). All right, we'll take a break and -- oh, my gosh. We'll take a break and we'll be back. We're having a lot of fun. Hope you are, too. More scenes coming up. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING: We're back on LARRY KING LIVE with Jack Hanna, the host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures" -- whoa!
HANNA: What was that?
KING: He's also the author of "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach Us About Parenting." He's director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo.
And this is a hawk.
HANNA: What was that?
KING: He's also the author of "Wild About Baby: What the Animals Teach us About Parenting." He's the director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. And this is a hawk.
HANNA: Right, this is a Harris' Hawk, that the Jackson's (ph) at Zoo to You teach teach people or show people how the animals fly. Now, a lot of these birds, Larry, have been injured, shot, hit by cars, whatever. This was a youngster that someone had gotten and turned over to David (ph) (UNINTELLIGIBLE) department.
The Harris's hawk -- what's different about the Harris's hawk is they're found in the Southwest, Mexico, all around there. And the animal, Larry, is one of the few birds that actually hunt -- these birds will hunt together. Most birds of prey will hunt by themselves, obviously. Not this bird. They'll hunt for and five of them at a time. They'll actually stand on top of each other on fence posts to get a better view, if they have to. They're a very, very social bird. The animal can go about 150, 160 miles an hour when they're making a dive down to find a rat or a rabbit, whatever it is.
KING: You're kidding.
HANNA: No, I'm talking fast. We're talking real fast. And their eyesight is incredible eyesight, as well. Look at the talons on the bird. They keep the bells on them because -- is this bird a hunting bird or a -- this is a hunting bird. In other words, there are falconers, Larry. It's amazing to watch them. If you ever have time, take the boys out and watch a falconer hunt birds. It's an incredible -- there -- no, fly him -- fly him back in one more time so we can see that bird come in. Can we do it one more time?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We sure can.
HANNA: Yes. Let's try this. There we go. Isn't that beautiful?
KING: How does he know where to go?
HANNA: He just knows these two by working with them. Falconers, these bids know them, just like a dog would know you at home, or whatever it is. They know exactly who these people are.
KING: Go back to the other place!
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: Oh, you want to -- there we go.
KING: Obey my command!
HANNA: That's great, David. Thank you.
KING: Thank you.
HANNA: Now, this next bird -- people always ask me, say, Jack -- say, Jack, what's the world's fastest animal? Well, what you're going to see here is the world's fastest animal.
KING: The falcon.
HANNA: Yes, the peregrine falcon. And you think about a stealth bomber, Larry -- now, these are all -- what he's doing there, these birds -- a lot of these have been injured. This -- is this hunting, too? This bird will hunt, too? It's a falconer?
This bird is the world's fastest animal at 220 miles per hour. About eight years ago, I did a show with these, and the guy said, You want this bird to fly through your legs? And he came out of the sky at about a mile up, and when he hit between my legs, Larry, it was like a bullet going between my legs. I thought I'd lost everything.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: Like this. And this bird here is adapting to our environment very well. They're actually nesting in downtown L.A.. They're nesting in downtown Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, all over the place.
KING: Are they flying around L.A.?
HANNA: Yes. They're -- I don't know about -- I'm sure that they're in taller buildings here. But the animals, what I'm saying, are adapting to our environment. We've totally -- as you know, we're building neighborhoods, and cities are getting bigger. So these animals are actually doing quite well now in a lot of major cities, on top of buildings.
And by the way, they're protected up there. You're not allowed to move a peregrine falcon's nest on a building.
Thank you so much for bringing this gorgeous animal.
KING: Yes, and they're beautiful, too.
And now we have the barn owl.
HANNA: Yes. The barn owl. The owl is...
KING: Hoo!
HANNA: Who is this?
KING: Hoo!
HANNA: The barn owl, Larry, is the only species of bird, the owl species, found on every continent except Antarctica. The owls are found on every continent except Antarctica, the only animal in the world found like that. Now, you have a lot of species of owl -- the barn owl, the European eagle owl, which is the largest. It's huge. The little screech owls, which are about this big.
The owl is called the bird of silent flight. Now, if this bird were to fly over your head, Larry, three inches in the total darkness, you would never even know it flew over your head. They have excellent eyesight, about five times greater than ours. But their hearing and echolocation is the greatest almost of any animal. They can actually go in a huge room like this and put a mouse down here, and in less than, I'd say, an hour, they'll find that mouse running around.
Isn't that beautiful? Look at that. Look at the face here. This is a barn owl? It's a barn owl? It's a barn owl. But look at the face there. Aren't -- you know, we say the "wise old owl." It's not necessarily that their brain is very small, it's they're wise because of their senses, their hearing, their eyesight makes them a very, very wise animal.
KING: Do they live a long time?
HANNA: In a zoologicial situation, 15, 20 years. In the wild, probably 8 to 10 years. But the animal, again, is adapting to our environment. Owls now are found in a lot of neighborhoods, downtown areas, that type of thing, because they're having to adapt because a lot of barns are gone, a lot of trees are gone.
KING: Yes.
HANNA: That's beautiful. Thank you.
KING: All right. Beautiful owl. And now we have?
HANNA: This right here? Oh, this is a very, very different creature.
KING: The slow loris.
HANNA: Right. The slow loris. I think this is -- the slow loris is from Asia. If we can stand right up in here, we can see this, right in here. The cameras can see this. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) point him this way. There we go.
The slow loris, Larry, is -- why does it say it's slow? Because it is very, very slow. They eat, like, little insects, worms. Look at those hands -- again, a very, very prehistoric type of animal. And they're found at nighttime, mainly nocturnal. These animals are all nocturnal.
We can't see his face there. Let me see -- see how he always wants to go to the highest place, which is now the top of her head.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: Do you see how he moves, Larry? Look at this. Look at this. Slow loris -- that's exactly why it's called the slow loris. If we can kind of turn around here...
KING: It moves slow.
HANNA: There we go. He keeps on turning -- now we can come back over there. He keeps turning around. He keeps on -- there we go. Look at this, keeping turning, like a tree. Look at the hands. I'm trying to show you the hands here. There we go. See how he is, how he's holding on, though? These animals can actually hold on upside down, whichever. I've never had a slow loris on. You don't see many of these animals -- again from Asia.
KING: No, I've never seen one.
HANNA: A slow loris.
KING: What is a two-toed sloth?
HANNA: Well, a two-toed sloth...
KING: As opposed to the one-toed sloth.
HANNA: Well, there's a three-toed sloth.
KING: Of which I am very familiar.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: No!
HANNA: This is a two-toed sloth because they have two toes. You can see here, two toes. The sloth is an animal...
KING: He lives his life upside down?
HANNA: A lot of times. Most of the time, yes, except they come down on the ground once a week to go to the bathroom. They really do. Now, why don't they go to the bathroom in the treetops, people ask. Because if they went to the bathroom in the treetops, the jaguar, the harpy eagle would hear that and go attack these animals. You can see -- what's this animal's means of defense? Other than teeth, nothing. Nothing. So they'll come down once a week very quietly.
When we were filming these in Central and South America, we have a very difficult time. They move so slow, Larry, that the algae grows on their back. The green, the rain, and it's so wet there. It looks like a big blob of moss moving in the treetops. They actually live their entire life in three or four trees, Larry.
KING: What is life like upside down, though, do you think?
HANNA: I don't know. They breed upside down. They live upside down. They go to -- I don't know if they go to the bathroom upside down. But they're a very unique creature, aren't they? They're very -- again, you have the giant sloth, they say, used to weigh a thousand pounds, back in the prehistoric days. And they're mainly, by the way, leaf eaters, fruit eaters, and that type of thing. They're not -- they're not -- they don't eat meat. But they're a really -- aren't they unique, though? Look at that face.
KING: Beautiful.
HANNA: That's a sloth, a two-toed and then a three-toed.
KING: And now we have the striped skunk.
HANNA: Now, we all know what a skunk is, right?
KING: I've heard.
HANNA: Yes. But think about it, Larry. Black and white -- why are skunks black and white, killer whales black and white? Next time you go to Sea World, look at the killer whales. You say, Why are they black and white? Why are the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) dolphins black and white? A Jersey cow's black and white, a Dalmatian. They're...
KING: What does it mean?
HANNA: A zebra's black and white. It's all camouflage, a lot of it, especially for the killer whale. They're trying to find food. It's very difficult to spot a killer whale underwater because of the black and the white camouflage. A skunk...
KING: So what, God did that to them?
HANNA: Yes. No, it's amazing how the earth was created by -- when God created the animals, it's -- if you just study animals some -- I'm still fascinated by what animals' colors are, how they live, how they work with each other and defend each other. Now, the skunk obviously has...
KING: Why doesn't he smell?
HANNA: Well, this one, again, was a pet. Somebody de-scented it, probably started ripping their house apart. Plus, Larry, skunks can carry rabies virus without ever showing symptoms. Now, you don't have to be nervous. This one doesn't have rabies.
KING: I'm not.
HANNA: No, I -- I (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
KING: I like this.
HANNA: He likes skunks.
KING: I like skunks.
HANNA: I never knew you liked skunks.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: ... learning a lot about myself tonight.
HANNA: I thought you liked Larry the lemur, but you like skunks.
KING: I like Larry the lemur, but I like this skunk. It appeals to me.
HANNA: Right.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Wait a minute. You said you de-scented him?
HANNA: Yes. I hope we de-scented him.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: But skunks...
KING: You hope he de-scented him?
HANNA: But skunks are an animal -- very inquisitive, but they can be very destructive. When you -- in the wintertime, I tell people, or even in the summertime, do not put your cat food out if you have a cat because cat food attracts skunks. Try and feed your pets indoors. If not, you're going to have skunks around the house, and then we have to come and try and remove the skunk and put him somewhere else.
But they're a neat little animal. They're also adapting, by the way, to many, many neighborhoods throughout the country.
KING: Cute. OK, and let's bring on one more in this segment, the three-banded armadillo.
HANNA: Right. This is another animal that's...
KING: Oh, I love this. They hide.
HANNA: ... very prehistoric here. The three-banded armadillo is from Brazil. You've heard of the nine-banded. You've seen nine- banded in Florida, in Texas...
KING: Yes.
HANNA: ... and New Mexico. That's a real much bigger armadillo. This is the three-banded armadillo from Brazil. And these animals only have three bands -- one, two, three bands. It's full grown. Again, they're nocturnal. And you can see the head there. See how the head's tucked away in there? I'll hold it like this. And when he opens up his little head, his little head comes out right here. This is...
KING: This is not a cantaloupe.
HANNA: No. That's a good point.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: I never heard about that. It looks just like a cantaloupe, doesn't it.
KING: Yes. In other words, if you put down, you go into the market, you feel around, you take home an armadillo.
(LAUGHTER) KING: And the wife likes it. Tastes good, cooks up...
HANNA: No, but you...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: ... a little armadillo soup.
HANNA: Right. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) cooking, though. That's what they do in South America, they -- in Brazil. They cook them like a taco. They actually -- I don't eat them, but they actually cook them right there in the fire like a taco.
But that's his head right there. See his little armor-plated head there? Now, when he unfolds, he has little feet like this. And their hearing is unbelievable. Their hearing is some of the best of any animal in the world. Their eyesight's very poor. And they have little claws on their feet, but they can dig very well.
We could leave him right here, and he might open up in just a second. I'm not sure. We'll just leave him there just a second. We'll leave him there until we come back. Maybe he'll open up.
KING: OK. Stay around.
We'll take a break, and we'll be back with more, show you more scenes coming. And still to come in the next segment, for the first time on television, live -- or on tape for tonight -- Peanut Butter and Jelly, the conjoined tortoises separated by the magic of medicine. You'll meet them right here next.
Come out. Come out!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back. Don't forget Jack Hanna's new book is "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach Us About Parenting."
Two African leopard tortoises, Peanut Butter and Jelly, were successfully separated. They're named Peanut Butter and Jelly because you can't have one without the other. The operation took three hours at the University Animal Hospital in Tempe, Arizona. They were joined at the side of the belly, near the tail end. One always had to be on its back. They're extremely rare. Their owners are Sharon and Bob Ehasz, right?
SHARON EHASZ, OWNER OF CONJOINED TORTOISES: Yes.
KING: Both of you are graduates of the Air Force Academy, right?
SHARON EHASZ: Correct.
BOB EHASZ, OWNER OF CONJOINED TORTOISES: We are.
KING: Did you meet there?
SHARON EHASZ: We did.
KING: Are you now in the Air Force?
SHARON EHASZ: We are.
HANNA: That's neat.
KING: What rank?
SHARON EHASZ: First lieutenant.
BOB EHASZ: I'm a first lieutenant also, soon to be captain.
KING: Well, now, how did you get involved with these tortoises? Can we put them down?
SHARON EHASZ: Certainly.
HANNA: This is a neat story.
SHARON EHASZ: I'm going to tell my version first...
KING: Go ahead.
SHARON EHASZ: ... because it's the correct one, so you better hear that one first. We have other tortoises. And while I was still a cadet and my husband graduated active duty, he wanted to get a tortoise. And my response was, A rock with legs. Why do we want tortoises versus dogs? So we got our first two tortoises, Simon and Garfunkel. And it's grown since then. And we decided that we had had enough tortoises, didn't need any more, until he found them on the Internet and was upset that they were being sold essentially to a freak show market.
KING: Because they were...
SHARON EHASZ: Correct.
BOB EHASZ: Abnormal.
SHARON EHASZ: Correct.
KING: ... conjoined.
SHARON EHASZ: Correct.
HANNA: Can you show us how they were -- is there a picture?
KING: We have a picture. We'll put it up on screen.
HANNA: OK. All right. But show us here how they -- show us -- put them together, like they were joined. This is amazing.
BOB EHASZ: They basically were joined at the stomach, just like this, so one of them was always upside down, no matter what we did. So when you turn him over -- so you can see their little patch. HANNA: Oh, that's where they operated?
SHARON EHASZ: Correct.
HANNA: Golly!
SHARON EHASZ: They put a gauze with five-minute epoxy over it to seal the shell. And eventually according to our veterinarian, Dr. Jarko (ph), they will actually grow their shell back underneath the patch.
HANNA: Really? So they're going to be all right?
SHARON EHASZ: We're hoping.
HANNA: Now, did he have his -- were the intestines connected, or what was connected?
BOB EHASZ: Actually, both tortoises had their own small intestines, but they both ran into PB, who had the only large intestine. So J...
KING: Peanut Butter.
BOB EHASZ: Peanut Butter, yes. And J right now, Jelly, is the one who does not have a large intestine. So he already is living on borrowed time. He is doing incredibly well.
HANNA: Golly!
BOB EHASZ: He has already confounded science.
HANNA: That's -- that's...
KING: And you paid for this?
BOB EHASZ: Actually, no. Dr. Jim Jarko and Dr. Jay Johnson (ph)...
KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) donated?
BOB EHASZ: ... of Phoenix...
SHARON EHASZ: Donated their time.
BOB EHASZ: ... donated their time and services and...
KING: How long did the operation take?
BOB EHASZ: Five hours, actually, closer to six.
HANNA: What a neat thing to do, though, for -- I mean, to see animals being sold as freaks, and then you take them and both of you cared to do that -- that's tremendous.
KING: I salute you both. HANNA: Yes.
SHARON EHASZ: Thank you.
BOB EHASZ: God gave humans dominion over the animals, and we're going to take care of them.
SHARON EHASZ: Yes.
KING: Thank you.
HANNA: That's tremendous.
KING: Salute you guys.
HANNA: Peanut Butter and Jelly. All right.
KING: That's great.
HANNA: Let me know. Keep me informed how they do.
SHARON EHASZ: Certainly will.
KING: Sharon and Bob Ehasz, thank you.
SHARON EHASZ: Thank you.
KING: Peanut Butter and Jelly. They brought them all the way here from Tempe for this show tonight. We're going to see a few -- Oh! Speaking of...
HANNA: Wowee!
KING: We just saw Peanut Butter and Jelly.
HANNA: Now, what -- this is the...
KING: How about this? This is meatloaf!
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: A cicada (ph) tortoise. Larry, you have the Galapagos tortoise -- hey, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) one of the boys. Come here. Will one of the boys come here?
KING: Chance, come here.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: All right, Cannon, come on!
HANNA: Come over here and see (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Come over here. Come over here. Come over here. I'll let you hold the tortoise. Come here. Come up here and see Jungle Jack. Look at this. I want you to sit up here.
KING: Look at -- look at the...
HANNA: Look at this. Stand up there. Now, look how -- kneel down. Can you kneel there, Chance?
KING: Kneel down, Chance.
HANNA: Chance, kneel here.
KING: Cannon, kneel down on your knees.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: Now, look at the size of this tortoise, Larry, next to your son. You see -- what I'm trying to compare -- isn't that amazing? Touch him. You can touch him. This is his house. See, what a lot of people don't know is that this tortoise -- this is his home, OK? This is his home. He lives in here, OK? And this is a little one. This is a little one here. Now, these tortoises, Larry -- you have the Galapagos tortoise. You know the Galapagos Islands? That's the world's largest tortoise. They weigh 500, 600 pounds. Then you have the Aldabra tortoise from Africa, which weighs about 300 pounds.
And then this is the third largest tortoise in the world, Cannon, third largest. Isn't that something? Here, you can hold this one. This is just a little one. Now, do you know the difference between a tortoise and a turtle? All right. A tortoise lives on land. A turtle lives in the water. Isn't that amazing?
KING: Can you hold it, Cannon?
HANNA: Put your hand underneath him. Put your -- you don't want him to fall. That's it. Oh, good. See how gentle he is? That is good. Isn't that nice?
KING: You like him?
HANNA: Do you have pets at home? You do?
KING: No you don't. What do you have?
CANNON KING: I have a dog.
KING: No, you don't!
(LAUGHTER)
CANNON KING: I don't.
KING: You wish you had a dog.
HANNA: Yes. Jungle Jack's going to take care of that, OK? Jungle Jack's going to get you gerbils and all sorts of fish and birds...
KING: Oh, yes. HANNA: ... and your father, Larry, and you mom will just love Jungle Jack. He'll have your house looking like a menagerie in no time. OK?
KING: OK, Cannon.
HANNA: He's excited. OK. Now Larry's going to stop us. I can see now.
KING: OK. Let's bring on the bullfrog. Thank you, Cannon.
HANNA: He's great! Did you see that -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that thing weighs -- that thing weighs, Larry, over -- about 100-and- something pounds.
KING: Cannon, you're on your way to stardom. Uh-oh, the bullfrog!
HANNA: This is the African frog, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
HANNA: Look at this thing, Larry. This thing is -- look at the size of this thing. Isn't that beautiful?
KING: Whoa, that's beautiful.
HANNA: See, look at -- look at -- a lot of times, they blow themselves up with air, Larry, to make themselves look bigger, so nothing will bother them. See here? Now, they wouldn't win a jumping contest. These aren't good jumpers, like a lot of frogs are. This is the African toad, right? What is...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bullfrog.
HANNA: African bullfrog, Larry. African bullfrog. I think these -- do these eat fish and mice and stuff?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Birds.
HANNA: Birds. Everything, Larry. This is not like some little thing that eats -- like, eats worms. This thing eats birds, whatever he can get ahold of. Look at the stomach here. Look at this. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) see that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Isn't that amazing?
KING: Whoa! It feels like it's going to fall apart.
HANNA: Exactly. It's not, though. Again, this is -- real quickly, one thing we can tell what's happening to our planet -- when I was a little boy, Larry, we had a lot of salamanders, frogs and everything. Today we've lost 40 percent of all amphibians in this country, 40 percent, Larry, in the last 50 years.
KING: And now we will meet the chameleon.
HANNA: There we go. Thank you so much. KING: Is a chameleon what we call -- oh, does this change colors and...
HANNA: Now, what kind of chameleon is this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
HANNA: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
HANNA: Yes, Madagascar. Look at this.
KING: Look at this!
HANNA: This is gorgeous. I never had one of these on there. Look at that. A veiled chameleon from Madagascar.
KING: Now, what does it do? What does it, change colors?
HANNA: It will change colors. Right now, it's not going to because it's obviously still on a tree that it's very comfortable with right now. But look, if that isn't prehistoric, Larry, tell me what is. Madagascar has some of the most fascinating -- look at the eyes there. I don't think you can get that on the TV there or not, on the screen there. If you can see these eyes of this animal moving around. These eyes rotate.
I'm going to hold him very still here. Let me see if they can get an eye shot here. Now, you see the eyes? Or have I got to -- has he opened his eyes? There we go.
KING: Now, the changing colors is also a defense mechanism?
HANNA: Yes. Very, very good. Yes, the trees. Now, he's not moving his eyes much now, but the whole eyeball rotates. I don't know if you see it or not. The whole eyeball rotates on this animal. See that? Look at that.
KING: If you put it up against those colored dots, would it change colors?
HANNA: Yes. Not necessarily. Sometimes it can't change the whole color, but it'll turn brown. I've seen these actually go from this color to total brown, almost.
KING: Wow.
HANNA: Look at those eyes move, though. Look at that. See how the whole eye moves. Because you can imagine, Larry,, if you had eyes on each side of your head -- our eyes are in the front of our heads. By the way, the owl -- I didn't tell you about that. The owl has to move his head because he cannot move his eyes. But this poor animal -- can you imagine this way and this way? Can't look forward, like you and me.
KING: Couldn't be a pilot.
HANNA: Yes. No, couldn't be a pilot.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Although you couldn't be hit -- you couldn't be blind- sided.
HANNA: That is beautiful.
KING: OK, let's get in one more in this segment, and then we have our final segment coming. And this is a Tegu lizard.
HANNA: Tegu.
KING: Tegu lizard.
HANNA: Yes. From South America.
KING: Whoa!
HANNA: Now, the Tegu, Larry, is very much noted for finding out where birds are and duck eggs. These animals love eggs. That's what the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) The Tegu lizard is an animal -- they grow to be about twice this big, is all. You saw the monitor lizard. This is called the Tegu lizard, and similar tongue. See the tongue there? Similar to the other animal's tongue. But obviously, the other one's much browner. This is much dark. It doesn't get as big as the monitor lizard. Same type of claws, Larry. You have lizards like this all over the world, in most continents, obviously, except Antarctica and toward the North Pole, where you don't have them.
KING: Are they made into clothing and stuff?
HANNA: Yes.
KING: Yes.
HANNA: They sure are. Yes.
KING: You feel it.
HANNA: You feel it. See the beads there?
KING: Yes.
HANNA: Belts, shoes...
KING: Beautiful.
HANNA: ... that type of thing.
KING: All right, we'll take a break and be back with our remaining moments with Jack Hanna of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures," the book, "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach Us About Parenting." And we thank Peanut Butter and Jelly for this exclusive appearance. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with our remaining moments. Chance has finally made an appearance. He has agreed to appear. Thank you, Chance. Say, You're welcome.
HANNA: He took a chance.
CHANCE KING: You're welcome.
KING: OK. And Cannon, of course, returns with Jack Hanna, the fearless one.
HANNA: I have three daughters, you know, and I've always wanted to hold a little boy. But I got a grandson, Blake. He...
KING: Look at this! What is this?
HANNA: Oh, yes. Look at this here. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Let's look at -- bring this around this side, so we...
KING: OK, what is this?
HANNA: This is the bearded dragon.
KING: The bearded dragon.
HANNA: Yes. Now, look at this. Look at this.
KING: It's not a big dragon.
HANNA: No, it's not, but look at this. It's called a bearded dragon. Aren't they neat?
KING: Look at him!
HANNA: Where are these from, David?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're from Australia.
HANNA: Australia. Now, look at this. You can touch him. You don't want to touch him? OK. You don't have to. They're a nice animal, aren't they.
KING: Touch him. He feels nice.
HANNA: Isn't that a -- a different-looking animal? Look at this.
CHANCE KING: Ouch! My (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
KING: What hurts?
CHANCE KING: It's too tight, my belt.
HANNA: Oh, the belt is tight.
KING: Your belt is too tight.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: OK.
HANNA: I don't blame you. That -- those things happen when you're with animals.
KING: You like this?
HANNA: See? Look at this here.
KING: Say hello to the dragon.
CHANCE KING: Hello, dragon.
HANNA: Puff the magic dragon, you heard of that? (SINGING) Puff the magic dragon...
KING: (SINGING) -- lived by the sea, and wallowed in the autumn...
HANNA: See, my kids are all grown. Your kids are just starting.
KING: All right, let's meet the blue-tongued skink.
HANNA: Yes, blue-tongued skink. Look at this. This is Australia, too, right, David? This is a blue tongue. See? It's got a blue tongue, this one here. You want to touch him?
KING: He has a blue tongue?
HANNA: You can touch him. You can touch this one. It's like a snake. See there?
KING: You want to touch him? No.
CANNON KING: Can I see his tongue?
HANNA: Yes. See there?
KING: Can I see his tongue? Look at that!
CANNON KING: Blue!
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: Blue. Exactly. That's -- look at that -- look at that shot! Is that something? Look at that. Oh, good shot (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Wow, look at that.
KING: Blue and red.
HANNA: Isn't that beautiful? Therefore, a blue-tongued skink. CANNON KING: Can I feel?
HANNA: Yes.
KING: Oh, look at that, Cannon. Cannon, you want to touch him?
HANNA: You can touch him.
KING: Are you thinking about it? Want to touch him?
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Oh, he's going to touch him.
HANNA: Good guy. There we go. That's good.
CHANCE KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) no germs?
HANNA: No germs.
KING: What? No germs.
HANNA: No, no. Larry, that's a good question, though, because folks who are watching at home -- that's very good because a lot of times they have these iguanas and these lizards and stuff, and they carry salmonella. Very good question. Very good question.
KING: Chance, he says you're right about germs.
HANNA: Right. Now, look at this, boys. Have you ever seen an animal with so many legs?
KING: Look at all his legs!
HANNA: Look at this. Millipede. Look at them all move.
CANNON KING: What is it?
HANNA: It's a millipede.
CANNON KING: It's got so many legs.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: Can you imagine shopping for shoes?
CANNON KING: Put him down!
HANNA: OK, put him down.
KING: Look at all his -- look at -- he's walking.
HANNA: We'll get him all warmed up here.
KING: Is that another one?
HANNA: Now, look at this, Larry. You see this liquid they're leaving here?
KING: Yes.
HANNA: That's, like, an arsenic-type liquid. I'm serious. You want to wash your fingers.
KING: OK.
HANNA: But he won't kill you.
KING: I won't touch it.
HANNA: No, but -- let's see if he'll start crawling here. There he goes. Look at -- look at those legs!
KING: There he goes!
HANNA: Beautiful shot. Look at that. Now, look at that. Is that amazing? This is "National Geographic" all over. Oh, wow! Man, "National Geographic"...
(CROSSTALK)
CANNON KING: Is that a little one?
HANNA: Yes. Yes. It's a little one. Now, let's see what happens. Look at -- oh, look at him going! Look at that! It's like a train! Look at that! Look at that! And then -- hey, look here. You want to put a cockroach on your shirt? No, you can. Look here. Look at J.J.
CANNON KING: No! No!
HANNA: OK, you don't have to. You don't have to.
KING: Look at the cockroaches.
HANNA: They're cockroaches. They're from Madagascar, too. These are cockroaches. Aren't they nice? Here, these are females here. They're smaller. See these here? These are female cockroaches.
KING: He's leaving...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: This is a male cockroach. Whoops!
KING: Look at him go!
HANNA: Look at this! Isn't that something? I used to have cockroach races. There he goes!
(CROSSTALK)
KING: ... gone! HANNA: That's too bad. Now, Larry...
KING: You going to go get him?
HANNA: Want to go get him?
KING: No. All right. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) We're going to close the show.
HANNA: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) You want to -- look -- hold the cockroach. You don't want him?
KING: You don't want to? All right. We're going to say good night now, OK?
CHANCE KING: Good night.
KING: No!
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Thank Jack for coming. Say, Thank you, Jack.
CHANCE KING: Thank you, Jack.
HANNA: OK.
KING: Say, Thank you, Jack.
CANNON KING: Thank you, Jack.
HANNA: OK.
KING: That was Jack Hanna of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures," assisted by Chance and Cannon. We had Sharon and Bobby with Peanut Butter and Jelly. The new book is "Wild About Babies: What the Animals Teach Us About Parenting."
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: And zoo to you (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
KING: OK, say good night.
CHANCE KING: Good night.
HANNA: Good night. I'll have your animals up to your house before dinner, all right?
KING: No thanks.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: ood night, everybody. Stay tuned for "NEWSNIGHT" next. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
