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CNN Larry King Live
Interview With Jack Hanna
Aired July 04, 2005 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK HANNA, HOST, "ANIMAL ADVENTURES": Look at that thing, Larry. Look at the stinger. Honest to gosh, I wouldn't do it.
LARRY KING, HOST: Wouldn't it be great to perish right here? You know, stay tuned to LARRY KING DEAD.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Tonight, Jack's back. And it's a jungle in here. The one and only Jack Hanna with a zoo's worth of amazing animals. They're adorable. They're exotic. And some of them are even deadly. Anything can happen with Jack and his critters, and it will, guaranteed, next on LARRY KING LIVE.
Welcome to the -- we always look forward to edition of LARRY KING LIVE, when Jack Hanna is our special guest, the host of the popular syndicated program "Jack Hanna's animal adventures." It's been on for years. He's director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. Here he is. It's always great to see him.
What is -- is there any special thing about animals in spring?
HANNA: Yes. Animals in spring, Larry, are always all being born in spring. Nature knows it's not real cold where the babies won't die in extreme temperatures. So this time of year, (INAUDIBLE) let those animals alone if you find them orphaned or in the grass, because a lot of times the mothers are just watching them, so try not to touch them.
If it goes two or three days, then you can call the wildlife department and they should help you. But right now, the rule of thumb is 90 percent of the time the parents will come back in the springtime, pick a rabbit, whatever it may be.
KING: People like yourself, you may be leading the pack, have increased our awareness of animals, don't you think? The public is much more aware of...
HANNA: Oh, Jeff Corwin, Steve Irwin, myself, all these guys are great guys. And you know, hopefully we're teaching people about the animal world in a fun way, which means it's educational. Hopefully there are people who are learning something about it. And that's what's important.
Last year, 146 million people went to zoos and aquariums, 146 million people, bigger than pro football, baseball, all of them put together. That shows that families want that type of entertainment.
KING: I was at Tampa Zoo recently. Very nice.
HANNA: Oh, gosh, yes, the Lowry Park zoo. Tremendous park. One of the finest parks in the country.
KING: Yes, it was really great. I took the grandkids and the kids.
Let's start with the bear cub.
HANNA: All right. Yep. We say "bear cub," this is bear here...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Now, wait a minute. Now hold on.
HANNA: This is David Jackson, this bear cub.
KING: This is a baby?
HANNA: Yes, this is a baby, baby was orphaned.
KING: What's an adult look like?
HANNA: Don't fall off there. Don't fall off there. He'll back off there. You'll be all right, Dave.
KING: What is he eating?
HANNA: He's eating like dog food, bear chow. But Larry, this is last year's cub. Now, a bear cub is born this time of year. We're talking about springtime. It's very important, Larry, that people, when bears come out with their babies, it's a (INAUDIBLE) never feed a bear. Never run from a bear.
A grizzly bear can run a football field in less than six seconds, 100 yards. This bear can do it probably in about 12 seconds. You can never outrun them. So what you do is you just stand your ground and back off slowly. Never run.
Also, always go hiking -- at least I do -- in Glacier Park with at least three or four people. Again, this bear is used for educational purposes. David Jackson has at his place. And this bear shows people, you know, what black bears looks like. This, by the way, is a black bear. You know, some black bears, by the way, are blonde, Larry.
You're over there, aren't you?
KING: Yes. Backed off a little, but over here. Is this as big as the bear gets?
HANNA: No. No. A bear like this can get to be anywhere from 250 to 300 pounds, a grizzly can be 800, 900 pounds.
KING: He likes fig Newtons?
HANNA: Oh, yes. Well, this is the thing, Larry. When you're in a park camping or in a campground, if you're caught feeding a bear or leaving your food -- hold that -- in all of the national parks, if you're caught feeding the bear, it's a dead bear.
The park has adopted a new policy that all the bears must be put down. Why is that, Larry? Because then they relate food to people. And that's what you don't want. So please, whoever goes hiking this spring and summer, whenever it might be, make sure that you don't feed the bears or leave your food out, because they associate humans with that.
KING: Would this bear attack you?
HANNA: In the wild, if you -- yes. You would never feed a bear like this. This bear is one that Dave works with.
Remember, also, Larry, bears are born at about eight ounces and they have no hair. They're born with when the mother is in a deep sleep in November, or December, and then they come out in like March or April, they come out of their dens.
KING: There he goes. Is he a male or female?
HANNA: David Jackson, great...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a boy.
KING: That's a boy.
HANNA: That's a boy. But, again, Larry, you know, we think of Teddy Roosevelt, remember, that's how the teddy bear started, when Teddy Roosevelt had a bear in Yellowstone, had his little pet, and that's how the teddy bear started, by the way.
KING: That's what it's named after.
HANNA: Exactly, after him. But you must be very careful with these bears, especially today where populations are more and more going around them. Just to not mess with them or pet them.
KING: Next is a binturong, nicknamed the bearcat, although he's not a bear and he's not a cat.
HANNA: Right, Larry, this is a binturong from Asia. And they're a really unique animal. Not many people see these animals.
KING: Boy, this is a strange -- drinking my coffee.
HANNA: It's strange. But isn't it a different looking animal?
KING: Boy.
HANNA: Can you smell it? He smells like popcorn.
KING: He does. He smells like popcorn.
HANNA: Exactly, just like popcorn.
KING: Now why is he called a bearcat?
HANNA: Well, because some people when they first saw it and said, "That looks like a bear kind of." But then all of sudden they said, "No, it's not. It kind of looks like a cat."
But again, it's called a bearcat with a prehensile tail. I don't know if you can see this tail here. Look that the size of that tail. It is huge. The animal lives a lot of its life in the trees, about 90 percent of its life is in trees, and that prehensile tail comes down and wraps around limbs. This is from Jackie Navarro's (ph) wild wonders, and she does all the educational programs all over this part of the country...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Where is he found?
HANNA: This one's found in Asia. Now, look at the whiskers, Larry. That allows this animal to hunt in total darkness. People sometimes wonder why there's a leopard and all these animals have big whiskers. Look at the size of that whiskers.
That's because the animal will go outside, and in total darkness can feel his way around with those whiskers. They have the popcorn odor there, obviously, to locate their mates and also if they have to go after somebody that might be a predator.
Now, they have very sharp teeth and they have incredible, powerful claws. It's almost look a wolverine in a way, as far as power. But they're not a -- they're an animal -- that they try to domesticate in that part of the world. But feel the coarse hair. Feel that hair. It's a very different...
KING: You know, he peels off the fruit. He leaves the peel. I've got to say, that's a little -- I like that.
HANNA: No, that is...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: He eats the peel.
HANNA: The one I have enclosed eats the peel.
KING: He did not eat the peel over there. Leave my coffee.
HANNA: Yes, we'll have to get you new coffee.
KING: He's drinking my coffee.
HANNA: Let me get you new coffee.
KING: I'll get -- OK.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: Heading back to the tree there.
KING: Going to go back to the tree.
And now, one of our old time favorites -- you know, Jackie Gleason's favorite, the raccoon.
HANNA: Right. Now, the raccoon is an animal, Larry -- again, I'm glad you brought up that point at the first of the show about springtime. This is one animal that people try to domesticate, try and get out of their garages (INAUDIBLE) and it works very good the first four to six weeks or even three months.
Then all of a sudden the animal becomes very, very aggressive. They can become very destructive in the house. Not only that, Larry, the raccoon can carry the rabies virus and not have symptoms, can carry the rabies virus.
KING: Someone tried to make it a pet?
HANNA: A lot of people try to make these pets. And my advice is, please don't do that, because, number one, you'll never be able to put it back out in the wild if you do that to the animal. It can never go out in the wild.
This animal wouldn't be able to defend itself. And plus, the raccoon is a very clean animal. You see those little hands? They love to catch crayfish and wash their food off like this. And they're very, very bright and intelligent animal as well. Look at mask on them. That's why, you know, they think they rob -- you know, like the robber of the animal world.
KING: What family is he in, the fox family?
HANNA: No, it's just the raccoon family.
KING: He's poised. He's ready.
HANNA: Also, Larry, they're nocturnal. These animals come out all at nighttime.
Thank you very much.
KING: Thank you.
And now, the final animal in this segment -- I feel like Jack -- the kinkajou.
HANNA: Kinkajou, right. The honey bear, a kinkajou, again, Jackie Navarro has the animal, raised this little animal. This animal here, Larry, back in the 1960s -- and now it's against the law basically -- this was sold as a pet in the pet trade. And they about wiped them all out, out of Central and South America. When we're filming this animal, which we just got through last year, we saw one of these in the wild. They've very, very difficult to find. You can see how it holds around Jackie's neck with its prehensile tail again.
Look at this. Again, it's called a honey bear or kinkajou. By the way, the nickname is honey bear, because it has that bear look, and it lives in the treetops. It actually has a long tongue. It will eat nectar. Even this coat will actually repel bee stings and stuff, if it has to. And they're nocturnal, as I think I said that before.
KING: Any of the four we've met here endangered?
HANNA: I don't think so. Jackie is -- I don't think any of the four we met were endangered, as far as animals. This is threatened, I know that. But I don't think any...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: What's the difference between threatened and endangered?
HANNA: All right. A threatened species is one that is we know is heading toward endangered. In other words, it's not quite -- like, for example, the American bald eagle was threatened at one time. Remember, then it was endangered. And then President -- I think it was Clinton or Bush moved it from the endangered species back to threatened.
So in other words, it's when the animals come back to a certain number is when we move them up and down. But yes, threatened is not good. Endangered is terrible. And of course, what's next, extinction. So that's what it is. Threatened, endangered, extinction.
KING: What animal has been extinct?
HANNA: Well, the passenger pigeon, three species of tiger in the last 50 years...
KING: Extinct.
HANNA: Extinct. Gone. Never be back, no.
KING: Now, this one, you hang him upside down, huh?
HANNA: Well, he likes that. That's how he lives. He hangs upside down on the limbs and goes and looks for birds nests and honey and all sorts of things.
KING: We'll be right back with more, our regular visit. We do it about two or three times a year with Jack Hanna. It's always great to have him. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with Jack Hanna, the host of the popular syndicated program "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures." He's director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. And it's always a delight to have him.
As they say, from 8 to 80, people love watching Jack Hanna. And our next animal up for display is the white-faced capuchin monkey. Now, white throated and white faced.
HANNA: Right. Larry, you may remember this back in -- the capuchin organ grinder.
KING: Oh, I know the organ grinder.
HANNA: This is the monkey. This is the type of monkey they had back then. The capuchin is a new world monkey.
When I say new world, look at the tail. Think of old -- oh, oh, he's got my mike there. Think of the old world monkey or apes, the gorilla, the chimp, the orangutan. These are (INAUDIBLE) old world, because obviously you don't have a tail.
But these animals, like the squirrel monkey, spider monkey, all these animals are like new world. This is from Central and South America. And again, it's threatened. It's not an animal you want as a pet. People always say, "Oh, I want a pet monkey. Isn't that cute, what Jack's doing on LARRY KING?"
Don't do it at all. Most of the time it's against the law. Number three, they carry disease. And only people who know what they're doing or have the proper permits have these types of monkeys to day, because they're no longer taken from the wild for pet training or anything else, because they bite and they also carry a lot of diseases.
KING: Why do every animal -- every time I see an animal, you give them food, they eat? I mean, they eat all the time.
HANNA: Well, right now, it's about dinner time. So...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: But I mean, will he, like, refuse a meal?
HANNA: Oh, yes. Sure. These animals are very smart. When they're not hungry, they won't eat. Plus he's got little pouches there. He's storing a lot of bananas. And these animals also...
KING: He stores them?
HANNA: Yes. They're pollinators, too. They go tree to tree. And like, if he's eating fruit from one tree, like oranges, he may go a couple miles and pollinate the next area with fruit. People don't realize -- like bees pollinate, these animals pollinate, as well.
KING: Wow. Things you learn here.
And now staying in the monkey tradition, the baby squirrel monkey.
HANNA: Right back to what we were talking about. You can sit right there with him. This is the same thing.
This is called -- you're all from the animal guys, and this animal -- here's a little squirrel monkey.
KING: "The Animal Guys," I like that.
HANNA: These are also animals that were used as pets again back in the '60s and '70s. I'm talking by the tens of thousands. And that also is against the law, now, basically to have these animals as a pet. This is a little squirrel monkey.
Now, Larry, these animals here go in troupes of like 50 to 60. It's amazing to see them in the rainforest. And the reason that is, is because numbers mean predators -- for example, if there's a predator trying to take one of these out, they get confused. You see 50 to 60 of them. That's their way of defending.
I mean, how else would this little thing defend himself? He couldn't. They live their entire life in trees. They're born in the trees and never, ever come down to the ground. They might come down to pick up a piece of fruit or something but never.
Again, this is a little squirrel monkey. Looks very, very nice, but can be very destructive in the house if you have them as pets. Do not do that. Almost like -- a prehensile tail. Isn't that something?
But the number of these -- I've seen upward of 100 of them in the tree tops. And it just looks like a bunch of birds, there are so many of them. Again, from Central and South America. They mainly are out in...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: That's full size?
HANNA: Yes, well, a little bigger than that. How old is this one?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's about nine months now.
HANNA: Nine months. So he gets about twice that big. Isn't that beautiful? Look at that.
KING: He is gorgeous, yes.
HANNA: These guys are "National Geographic" quality cameraman. I'm telling you something.
KING: Oh, they're tough.
HANNA: I may take him. Look at that.
KING: Thanks for coming, baby squirrel monkey.
HANNA: You may not have these camera guys tomorrow night. I'm going to take them back with me. KING: They'd go there. They like you. They're used to be to being around human animals of a different kind. Black and white roughed lemur.
HANNA: Right, this is a lemur.
KING: This is not Larry the Lemur.
HANNA: No. We had Larry on ten years ago. He's alive, but he's just...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Hanging on, yes? He's on Social Security, if they're funded.
HANNA: He's taking it easy. This is a prosimian, Larry. The lemur -- remember, I told you this is a prosimian. Pre-monkey and pre-ape. Very, very old.
Look at the little hands on this animal. Look at that -- how they can even just -- opposable thumb, isn't that amazing? And these animals are from Madagascar. The only place in the world you find the lemur is Madagascar. Like, Central, South America you find all these types of monkeys and stuff.
As a matter of fact, you talk about endangered extinction. This animal is very endangered. And right now, Madagascar, the loss of wood, the loss of the forest, this animal could go extinct in the next 10 or 15 years if something's not done.
KING: Now, in the broad scope, is he in the monkey family? Or a lemur's a lemur?
HANNA: Prosimian. No, a lemur's in the prosimian family.
KING: Break it down. What is a prosimian?
HANNA: Prosimian is pre-monkey, pre-ape. I think the lemur (INAUDIBLE) would be in that category.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: Yes, exactly...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: How old do they go back?
HANNA: We're going to have some of the -- shoot, buddy, tens of thousands year.
KING: Hey, hey, hey. He's taking the bananas.
HANNA: No, he loves the bananas.
KING: Share and share alike.
HANNA: Now, Larry, they have little (INAUDIBLE) like if he got on your arm right now, he would mark your arm with a little (INAUDIBLE) glands there.
Again, now, these animals won't live their entire lives in trees. It looks like they would, but they'll actually get on the ground in numbers of 30 and 40.
KING: Look at that shot.
HANNA: Oh, that is beautiful. This is an animal that's so sad, Larry, because they are still hunted for their meat and their coats.
KING: Hunted for meat?
HANNA: Yes. And in Madagascar, it's very -- the American Zoo Association now has a lot of control over the breeding of these animals.
KING: And to wind up this segment, one of the smallest primates in the world, the bush baby.
HANNA: That's the bush baby. Now, when we see these animals, Larry -- this is a beautiful animal. Look at this. This is amazing. We have all these -- I didn't know we had all of these types of prosimians.
But again, see the hands similar to the last one? And look at those eyes. Again, nocturnal. (INAUDIBLE) They're early morning (INAUDIBLE) This is a nocturnal only.
When we're filming in Africa -- in fact, this last time, we were in -- I think it was Tanzania -- at nighttime, we go out -- your daughter, Kaya (ph), has seen these in Africa.
Well, we're filming at nighttime, we see all these little eyeballs out there, you know, just like flashlights are hitting them, like maybe 30, 40 eyeballs in one tree. And that's these here.
Again, it's numbers that protect these animals. They have a tail there. You've heard of flying squirrels.
KING: Sure.
HANNA: You know, like when you were young? Flying squirrels, this thing can leap 30 feet from tree to tree. And it is definitely -- this is more of a pollinator than almost any animal.
KING: And it's called a bush baby?
HANNA: Bush baby, because it lives obviously out in the African bush. And it kind of looks bushy itself. Look at those ears. It almost looks like a bat, in a way, too. Love fruit and loves all types of leaves and that type of thing.
KING: And we're off to a great start. These are great looking animals.
HANNA: Beautiful. Beautiful animals.
KING: Beautiful.
We'll be right back with more of Jack Hanna. Still coming, the Arctic fox, the bat-eared fox, the African bullfrog, a poisoned duck frog, a prairie dog. We even have an armadillo and a baby anaconda. If we had an adult anaconda, we would not have a host. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with my man, Jack Hanna, of the syndicated program "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures," a terrific show. How many years has that show been on?
HANNA: Twelve years now.
KING: He's director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. And we've got our regular parade of animals, I guess, every three months.
HANNA: Yes, we do every three months, yes. A lot of people learn a lot from this show. Larry, we have a lot of calls that people had never seen animals or seen them this close. And that's what it is all about.
KING: Great idea, seeing them this close. Here comes the Arctic fox.
HANNA: Now, this animal, Larry, right now...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: He lives in the Arctic.
HANNA: Exactly. Not the Antarctic, the Arctic. And this animal, Larry, is known to follow around a lot of the polar bears. When polar bears kill their seals and eat what they can -- remember, there's not a lot of birds up there that are going to take the leftovers.
So this little animal follows the polar bear around. Again, it's got a white coat now. The coat is turning a little bit gray right now, but it gets whiter and whiter in the middle of the wintertime because that's how it protects itself from the snow.
Thank you, that's great. Beautiful animal, arctic fox. You smell the odor, too. That's his odor. It's almost like a fox -- like a skunk odor.
KING: And now the fennec fox.
HANNA: All right, it's a good example. See, there a lot of different types of foxes. And here is another animal, Larry, we talk about. People kind of go up to a red fox, grey foxes -- I think you have them here in -- oh, in the country we have foxes.
They're a very intelligent animal, but they also, like the raccoon, will carry the rabies virus and not have symptoms. You've got to be very careful about these animals.
This is the fennec fox from the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa. Now, you may say -- look at those ears. Why do they have such big ears? Like an elephant has big ears, those ears act as a radiator. Those blood vessels run through those ears and keep that animal cool in the heat of the day.
In the Sahara Desert, it's 130, 140 degrees. I mean, it's real hot. And so that animals -- literally, if those ears weren't there, would die. It's nocturnal, mainly, because obviously hot in the daytime -- they eat mainly insects, and little worms, little rodents, rats, mice, whatever. But more insects than people would even know. It's full grown.
KING: What kind of life span they have?
HANNA: That animal probably in the wild would go anywhere of 8 to 10 years, maybe in a zoological park, 12 to 15. Thank you.
KING: And now, continuing with our fox feature, the bat-eared fox from South Africa and East Africa.
HANNA: Now, Jackie, I'm going to let you say a few words about this, because, Larry, I've never seen one of these. This is the first time I've ever seen it. I've never had one on a show before.
KING: It says, "wide-eared, short, narrow mouth, long jackal- like legs."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, these guys are actually built for mainly eating insects. They have (INAUDIBLE) teeth that help them to be able to just strictly eat insects.
HANNA: I've seen one in the wild, Larry, but I've -- look at the ears on that. That is absolutely unbelievable. I mean, that's why they get the name bat, because their face almost looks just like the bat or even if you look at the nose, it's like a raccoon.
KING: That's very pretty.
HANNA: Beautiful animals. And that's from, what, South Africa?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're found throughout East Africa as well as South Africa.
KING: Is their fur -- are they trapped for fur?
HANNA: I'm sure they're not -- there's not much trapping in Africa, but I'm sure that they get a hold of them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're considered pests, so unfortunately -- because they're usually found around farmlands to eat the bugs, so they are killed because of that.
HANNA: Boy, thank you, Jackie.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: And now a gigantic -- doesn't look gigantic -- African bullfrog.
HANNA: Right. You want to put him down?
Look at this frog. Now, Larry, you see here, look at this. You see that there? That's his means of defense. Now, a lot of times these frogs will -- it's not like a (INAUDIBLE) it's an African bullfrog.
Now, what's this eat? This thing here would probably eat like little mice and things like that. I want you to feel him because you get warts. I'm just kidding. You don't get warts.
But that's his means of defense. That's his means of defense, that he blows himself up to look bigger so nothing will eat him.
KING: He can weigh up to 4.5 pounds with a body that's nine inches long.
HANNA: Exactly. I've seen them this big. Huge. I'll bring him back when he's bigger.
KING: I wonder what he's thinking about?
HANNA: I don't know. But I know that they bite. And I don't want to get bit.
KING: And now the poison dart frog.
HANNA: These are animals here -- touch him or is it poison?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you can touch him.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: I hear "poison," you touch them.
HANNA: Wait, you touch them and they lose their color?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In captivity, they lose their toxicity.
HANNA: Oh, OK. Look at this. God, this is gorgeous.
KING: You mean he's poisonless in the wild...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's not known exactly why they lose it in captivity, but they think it's related to diet.
KING: Put him down. What do the Animal Guys do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do wildlife education.
KING: Travel all around?
HANNA: Tell Larry about these, because when I'm -- am I right...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: They look like little toys.
HANNA: Yes, but, Larry, this is what in South America they make the poison darts out of, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. That's how they got the name. They rub the arrow tips on the backs and get the toxin on there, and then they can hunt with it.
HANNA: We're talking, Larry, deadly, am I right? I mean, that's what I've read. When they get that toxin, they cook it or something, put it on the end of the arrows, it is fatal. And that's why they call them the poison arrow frog.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, depending on the species, some are extremely toxic, some of the deadliest toxins...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: I've seen them once in Costa Rica.
KING: Thank you, man. These are great. You know, we had that fox at the beginning. There's a great joke. You even hear the polar bear joke?
HANNA: No.
KING: This polar bear goes over to his mother and says, "Am I a polar bear?" And she goes, "Yes, you're a polar bear. I'm a polar bear, and your father's a polar bear." He says, "OK."
He comes back the next day, "Ma, are you sure I'm a polar bear?" She said, "Everyone here is a polar bear. Your uncle's a polar bear, your aunt's a polar bear. You are a polar bear!"
He comes back the next day, "Ma, are you sure I'm a polar bear?" She says, "Why are you driving me nuts?" He says, "Because I am freezing!"
We'll be right back after this. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with my man Jack Hanna of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures." He's director emeritus of the famed Columbus Zoo. He's famous worldwide and deserved. And we're looking now in the rodent section. And we come up with the African-crested porcupine.
HANNA: Right. Now, Larry, we have not had one of these on before.
KING: One of my favorites.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: No, not this. We had a porcupine, but not this. Don't let the quills just -- it won't hurt you, I don't think.
KING: Don't think? Don't say think.
HANNA: But look, Larry -- you have the North American porcupine, the South American porcupine, and the African porcupine. This animal here, Larry, gets huge. I'm talking like this big.
I've seen these in Africa. And when they rattle, when they get alarmed, it sounds like a rattlesnake. I don't think -- can I touch these right here, Dave, like this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, absolutely.
HANNA: It goes almost -- I wouldn't do it, Larry.
KING: Get away from my pen.
HANNA: Anyway, what I was trying to tell you, is when they do rattle, Larry, it's like a rattlesnake. And those quills, Larry have barbs on the end. The quills have bars on the end. So if it was to stick you, you could not get the barb out.
See that -- see there, look at that. You can't see it, can you? It's a barb like a fish hook, Larry. And when it gets in you, you have to go to the hospital to get the quills out. And that's why a lot of the animals die.
That's the only porcupine means of defense. Hey. That's the only means of defense for the porcupine, because if a lion were to come up to this animal or something -- if this were Africa, they try and eat it, they can't do it. But if the lion can roll the porcupine over, that stomach is very, very soft, and that's how they have to tackle them. But I've seen lions before that were -- terrible face were infected in Africa (INAUDIBLE) the porcupine quills had gotten in their face and everything.
KING: That's their means of defense.
HANNA: Exactly and they rattle to tell you to stay away. But if you don't stay away, then you're going to get stuck, especially right there on the rear. You can see those...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Enough with the pen!
HANNA: You can see those quills right there on the rear.
KING: He's got a fascination for pens.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: A beautiful animal, isn't it? And those quills, Larry, are also used as -- thank you, Dave. Hear that? Hear that rattle? See he just got stuck in the shoulder. But he's all right. He's tough.
KING: And now the prairie dog on the lone prairie.
HANNA: Larry, this is an animal we see in Montana where I live a lot...
KING: These two of them?
HANNA: Yes. Prairie dogs.
KING: Hey, there, prairie dog, you look like a squirrel.
HANNA: The blackfooted prairie dog, Larry, they live in like -- it's amazing. They have like cities underground. I'm talking like huge, like 300 or 400 of them live in these little cities. And they come up out of the ground, especially late in day, and look around.
And of course, their predators are birds of prey, mainly. And like foxes and things like to eat these things. But they have a real social structure that's phenomenal.
KING: You can have a head man and...
HANNA: Oh, yes. I love to look at prairie dog colonies, Larry, in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming. A lot of ranchers don't like them, because cause a lot of -- you can imagine, horses step in the holes and tractors...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: You darn prairie dogs!
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: And a lot of them -- they're pests. They're considered pests out in that part of the world. (INAUDIBLE)
KING: Oh, look at this.
HANNA: A lot of people, Larry, have never seen a prairie dog. I guarantee you I'll get a lot of calls from the show tonight saying -- oh, did you hear that? Hear that chirping? That's what you hear when you approach a prairie dog town.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Prairie dog town?
HANNA: Yes, they're called towns. You don't call them like -- you call them prairie dog towns. And when you go around prairie dog town, you here the cheep, cheep, cheep, cheep. And they're warning all those little prairie dogs down the way.
KING: Cheep, cheep.
HANNA: And a lot of times, snakes make their holes in the prairie dog's homes. Look at this. Look at his little hands. He sits up. Oh, that is neat.
KING: That's fun.
HANNA: I mean, oh, my gosh. Look at that shot, Larry. Holy mackerel.
KING: That's a great animal.
HANNA: We can just add some little dirt here, and we can (INAUDIBLE) do a prairie dog show.
KING: And now we have, oh, look at this -- OK!
HANNA: He didn't want to leave. A Patagonian cavy. We're not going to put this one down.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: This is from Patagonia. And I think it's a second largest rodent in the world, I think, one of the tops.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Second largest in the area.
HANNA: In the area, right.
KING: If you put him down, what would he do, leap?
HANNA: Yes, he just hops a lot. And he'll be too slick on the desk here.
But they're called a Patagonian cavy. They're hunted for food over there. And their legs are almost like a rabbit. It almost looks like something that's deformed from the standpoint that their back legs and front legs are almost different lengths.
But isn't it neat? It's almost got the rodent head. Neat animal. It's called a Patagonian cavy. I don't think -- we never had one on here before. And it's from Patagonia, off in South America, is where they're from.
KING: Boy, we've got a little kangarooish.
HANNA: Exactly, kangarooish. You're right. You're right.
KING: I like that.
HANNA: I love those. Thank you very much for bringing it.
KING: Viscatha (ph). Never saw this before.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: No, we never had one of these on before at all. These are from South America, I think, up in the -- way in the high altitudes. Look at this. He's almost got a head like a -- if you've seen a wombat in Australia -- but that's obviously not what it is.
But a viscatcha (ph). It's hunted for their coats, like a chinchilla is. You know, people make gloves and hats out of them. They eat these as food.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: Aren't they unique? Look at that head, though. Isn't that a neat-looking animal? Very, very different. I mean, unbelievable. I've never seen one until just now.
They got real sharp teeth like a rodent, obviously. A rodent has sharp teeth. And those teeth grow. Look at the back legs of this animal, Larry. Almost the same as -- you talk about the cavy, same type of back legs and front legs almost.
KING: Where are they found?
HANNA: South America in the high altitudes in the Andes.
KING: Now we have a capybara.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: Thank you so much for bringing it.
KING: Beautiful. A capybara.
HANNA: All right, now, Larry, this right here...
KING: What the hell is this? What the hell is this?
HANNA: Larry, this is the largest rodent in the world. Now, you've got understand. When I was in Brazil -- and we film over there -- this animal gets to be 300 pounds, 300 pounds full-grown. And it's called the water -- this animal swims in the water, Larry. It's like 50 percent, 60 percent of its life is spent in the water. And this is a main source of food for people that live in...
KING: Leaves.
HANNA: ... in South America. No, food for the people, for the people.
KING: Oh, they eat this.
HANNA: Yes, they eat it. You're kidding me? Yes. It's a very, very good -- I've eaten it before. I didn't want to eat, but I was in a village where I... KING: Tastes like chicken.
HANNA: Exactly. A little more like beef, though. Well, this is capybara, an animal that also has very sharp teeth. And these teeth keep growing, and growing, and growing.
Remember, Larry, the world's largest rodent is what this is.
KING: I like him. There's something about him.
HANNA: Aren't they something? I love capybaras. And look at the feet. They have feet like they can swim with. Their feet -- believe it or not, quite of a little web, but just a little bit of web they swim with. And they love...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Are they good swimmers?
HANNA: Oh, unbelievable. I'm talking about lightning. And if a jaguar, or an animal starts chasing them, or whatever it might be in Central, South America, they take off like a bullet. And wherever you find these animals, rest assured you might find a jaguar, which is very, very endangered. The capybara is the world's largest rodent.
KING: I like that animal.
And finally in this segment, the proverbial chinchilla.
HANNA: Right, the chinchilla.
KING: Which millions of women devour.
HANNA: Right. And they now have the chinchilla obviously, you know, -- bred domestically for fur. But this animal in the wild is virtually extinct. People don't realize that. In the wild, the chinchilla is virtually extinct.
KING: Do they kill them brutally when they make the coats and hats?
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: That's what I've heard. I've never been to a chinchilla farm, so I wouldn't know. If I said something one way or another, I'm sure they...
KING: This is a baby chinchilla right?
HANNA: Yes, a young -- no, it's full-grown?
Here, feel this, Larry. What some people don't know -- isn't that amazing? Unbelievable. Now, what people don't know is that a chinchilla can stay clean by dust baths. They take dust baths. They bathe in dirt. In other words, when you -- everybody that raises chinchillas, like wild wonders, always has them in dust baths to keep them right nice and clean. Unlike, you bathe your children in water.
KING: Yes, beautiful.
HANNA: Isn't that that gorgeous?
KING: Well, sometimes in water.
OK, guys, we've had a lot of fun. Still to come, the ocelot and the baby anaconda. More, lots more to come with Jack Hanna. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with my man, Jack Hanna, the host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures," 12 years on the air, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. And in this segment, we begin with the ocelot, a beautiful...
HANNA: Now, the ocelot -- this is Steve Roos' (ph) ocelot. Yes, he's kind of...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: He's a little ticked.
HANNA: Right. You talk about endangered. This is very, very endangered. Back in the '70s, it was threatened when I was a young man. But now it's very, very endangered. Look at the coat, Larry. You can see why.
Hunted mainly for its coat. Sad thing is, it took about six of these to make one coat. That's been stopped now. It's a federal offense, obviously, to kill an ocelot. It takes a lot of special permits to have an ocelot. And this animal is mainly nocturnal. It will hunt, for example, that capybara, if it's a young capybara. It will hunt any kind of rodents, birds, whatever it might be, eggs.
KING: So you keep them separated here, right? Because he sees the capybara, it's lunch?
HANNA: Right. It wouldn't be good, right.
But isn't that a magnificent -- look at the markings on that face there.
KING: Yes, I like the feet, too.
HANNA: Absolutely unbelievable. It's almost, Larry -- well, the ocelot's almost like -- you think it's a small leopard or something like that. Some people can call it the leopard cat. But that's another different type of animal.
But the ocelot is one, again, that will go on tree tops, lives a lot on the ground. It's not like an African leopard where it spends a lot of its time in the trees. This animal has spent a great deal of its time on the ground, very, very beautiful, soft coat, long tail for balance...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Beautiful animal.
And now we meet -- you want to get a scary movie, get the "Anaconda" movie. This is a baby anaconda.
HANNA: Yes, this is a baby one. I'm going to let you stay here, though, because, Larry, I've had three severe bites in my 30-something years of doing this. And one of them was with a 19-foot anaconda that got a hold of his right-hand finger right here. (INAUDIBLE)
I was helping Stan Brock (ph) on that show once. And I went like this. They were filming the anaconda. And I went like this to pull a little piece of shredded skin off of him, of his nose, and got my whole finger in his mouth. And I went like this.
They said, "Don't move your finger. Wait 15 minutes, and he'll lease his jaw muscles." Because they have 200 teeth or so, Larry, and those teeth are like fish hooks. So when a snake bites, it cannot let go. Mother Nature can them that ability.
So you have to sit there. Now, remember this the next time you're taking a hike in the jungle, because I'm trying to help you.
KING: Don't pull.
HANNA: Don't pull. Let the snake relax his jaw. And this is the anaconda, the python, Larry. You know the python from Africa and Asia, the anaconda from South America. And this animal lives his entire life in the water.
Incredible swimmers. They grab their prey, circle around them, and then swallow them whole.
KING: They're beautiful, too.
HANNA: Not poisonous, it's just -- ain't it gorgeous?
KING: They just kill you.
HANNA: Well, it couldn't kill you. I mean, it would have to be like 15 feet to kill you. But for me, maybe 18 feet. If you're real big, bigger snake.
KING: OK. Good-bye, anaconda. Don't grow too fast.
A toucan.
HANNA: A toucan, exactly, from Central and South America.
KING: And a great-looking... (CROSSTALK)
HANNA: This bird is not endangered. It's threatened in a lot of places. You have different species and different types of toucan. But look at the color. Oh, what a shot that is. That shows you, Larry, the color -- how does Mother Nature...
KING: How did it get that color?
HANNA: How did it get a green like that around its eyes? I still to this -- today this is the most colorful animals, Larry, in the entire world. Now, there are parrots, and there are beautiful animals. But when it comes to color, I've never seen a mixture like that.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: And he's also very curious. You know, he's very aware.
HANNA: I think...
KING: What the hell is going on here? What is this? OK, so I missed.
HANNA: Let's try one. But, Larry, that's what they eat is fruit. Now, people used to (INAUDIBLE) because this animal is very difficult to take care of, unless you're a zoological parks. Look at there.
KING: Good, great catch.
HANNA: You see that? Now, Larry, that will come out of him in about an hour. They're soft -- remember, it's not like a parrot that's a seed eater. These are soft fruit eaters.
And that beak, by the way, looks like it weighs -- heavy. Doesn't even weigh a tenth of an ounce. Weighs nothing.
Here, one more time. Because remember, this bird's got to fly. Look there. Pretty good, huh? Oh, love that bird, what color.
KING: Thank you, toucan, beautiful.
HANNA: Beautiful.
KING: And now the hairy armadillo, as opposed to the bald armadillo.
HANNA: Yes, look at this animal. Remember we had an armadillo? Not one of these, Larry. A hairy armadillo. This is from South America, isn't it? Look at that thing.
KING: A lot of hair?
HANNA: I've never, Larry, seen a hairy armadillo. Look at this. That's wild. It looks like somebody that's losing their hair like me and...
KING: Every time we have armadillos, they don't have hair.
HANNA: Exactly. This is a hairy armadillo.
KING: Can you put him down? Does he...
HANNA: No, he'll take off. He'll take off. They can run fast, and he'll just take off. They're nocturnal, Larry. The armadillo -- remember something. Very poor eyesight, excellent hearing, and excellent sense of smell, because they have to go around and smell for little bugs and things at nighttime. They don't have teeth -- (INAUDIBLE) is this male or female?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A male.
HANNA: This is a male. And look at that armor. He goes up into a ball, Larry, how he defends himself. See this is all armor-plated here. That's a prehistoric creature, Larry. This animal has been around for a long time, like the alligator...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Are there any with hair?
HANNA: Just from South America. (INAUDIBLE) lot more like our armadillos and (INAUDIBLE) non-banded, then you have the three-banded, and the hairy armadillo. I've not seen any of these at all.
KING: And they move pretty good?
HANNA: Yes, real fast at night, yes.
KING: And the Siberian lynx.
HANNA: This animal, Larry...
KING: Oh, my gosh.
HANNA: Magnificent, isn't it? Look at that, Larry. Oh, my gosh. We've had a little one, not one that big.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: How's thing today?
HANNA: Now, this animal, Larry, has been hunted almost to extinction, if not -- they're still very, very few left in Siberia. Isn't that gorgeous? Look at that coat. And you wonder why.
KING: Beautiful.
HANNA: Look at feet on this animal, Larry. And that's because this animal has to live in the mountains in temperatures of 30, 40, 50 in Siberia, obviously, below zero. But this animal also eats like rodents, as well as some type of hares, rabbits, that type of thing. And according to the population of these animals, there's a population -- like, for example, the Canadian lynx, its population is based on how many hares there are. Now, see if he'll sit down here a minute. Oh, wow, that's beautiful. This animal is gorgeous.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: This is Russian, then?
HANNA: Yes. It's almost like, Larry, our bobcat, if you look at the bobtail, and its ears, but much, much bigger. The Siberian lynx is the biggest, then you have the Canadian lynx, and of course, then our bobcat and of course, you know, the largest cat...
KING: Are they dangerous?
HANNA: Oh, in the wild. To see one of these in the wild, Larry, you would consider yourself one of the handful of people in the world to ever see one in the wild.
Same thing as a mountain lion, because they're just -- they don't want anything to do with human beings, you know? Remember the tragedy we had here in California with the lady on the bicycle, the mountain lion? You remember that?
KING: I remember.
HANNA: Well, people said, "Oh, we've got to go out and kill all the mountain lions." Larry, that's not -- getting attacked by a mountain lion or an animal like this is like getting hit by lightning. You know, it's the wrong place at the wrong time. That's all I can explain to you. But isn't that -- oh, that is gorgeous.
KING: Beautiful. We'll be back with our remaining moments. We still got an opossum, a red kangaroo, a Bennett wallaby, too, and millipedes, and a kookaburra, whatever that is. Don't go away. We'll be back with Jack Hanna.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with our remaining moments with Jack Hanna. A lot of remaining moments, too. We're going to see a lot more animals. The host of the "Jack Hanna Animal Adventures" on syndicated television. It's on a channel near you. And he's director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo.
Now we're now going to meet an opossum.
HANNA: Larry, the opossum...
KING: These are marsupials, right?
HANNA: Exactly. Larry, you must remember, the opossum's the only marsupial we have in this country. The only one. Australia, which we're getting ready to go here to very shortly, has a lot of marsupials. The opossum, though, is an animal that's nocturnal mainly. There's an animal that's not by any means -- it's almost considered a pest in most places. But they've adapted to our environment. This is an animal that's adapting to whatever environment we create as men. A lot of animals can't do that.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Is that what we mean by playing opossum?
HANNA: Playing opossum means -- you know how you go down the road at nighttime, you see a opossum on the road? A lot of times it looks like it's dead. It's not dead, Larry. What it is, especially in Ohio, other states where it gets cold and the sun comes out in the winter, heats up that asphalt, that possum goes on that asphalt to stay warm.
So some people say, "Oh, it's dead. I'm just going to run over it." Well, a lot of times it's not dead and it's just staying warm on the road.
Again, they have about 17 teats in their pouch. So if you're 18 babies, you're out of luck. So she's have about -- I think it's -- is it 14 or 17? Who cares? It's a lot of them.
KING: It says the females give birth to their young when the young are very small. The babies then climb into the mother's pouch where they stay and nurse for the period of time until they're mature.
HANNA: Exactly. And they'll attach the nipples, and they'll swell around the animal's mouth, Larry, where they can't let go. And they'll stay in there for maybe four to six weeks, and then they'll come out on the mother's back, and then she'll carry them around. But the pouch -- this a female?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
HANNA: Can you hold her up by the tail or is she comfortable doing that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, she's good.
HANNA: All right, hold her up by the tail. I want to show you something here real quick. I don't know if I've ever done this before.
See here, Larry? Look at this. See this. There. There. Look at there.
KING: There is the pouch. Wow.
HANNA: Right there.
KING: Good shot.
HANNA: That's great. Now, right there, Larry, are all the little breasts in there. And that's where the babies come out like little worms and they attach to those nipples. And then when they -- they come out of the birth canal, and when they're looking like a worm, and they come out looking like a opossum. You know, it's just like in an oven or something.
KING: And now the red kangaroo, famous for hopping skills, for being the biggest marsupial in Australia. It's not red, though.
HANNA: Yes. Well, no, it's red, Larry. It's just you can't see. See, it's got some red color there.
KING: Oh, yes, I see.
HANNA: Now, Larry, the kangaroo is the only animal in the world -- not the only animal -- that can actually have three babies at one time. Like, this baby is now coming out of the pouch. OK, if you were a kangaroo, you wouldn't want this in your pouch, would you?
KING: No.
HANNA: Too big. So it starts hopping out.
And then what happens is, the other little thing that looks like a worm being born comes out of the birth canal and gets in the pouch. The mother (INAUDIBLE) push the baby kangaroo out of the pouch before it's mature. It'll die.
So the other little kangaroo's coming in the pouch. And then she could have just bred. So she has three. But now, this one -- one of these will die, the one that's pushed out of the pouch.
The kangaroo is a marsupial, as we all know, has a pouch. Now, when we film these in a few weeks in Australia, we'll see a lot of these dead on the roadside. And a lot of times we'll stop. And half the time, Larry, we'll find the mother, if it's a female, has a live baby in that pouch.
When it's first in the pouch, it looks like a worm. But it's developed enough to where we can tell -- like at the Columbia Zoo, we're raising a baby kangaroo, Laura (ph) and Suzie (ph) there, and Julie (ph) are raising a baby kangaroo.
And we've been able to raise it -- I don't know how we did it. Now, see he wants to come out and hop. They go about 30 miles an hour.
And what do you call a group of kangaroos, a bunch of them, what do you call it? A mob. A mob of kangaroos. That's what you call it.
KING: Look at that.
HANNA: And a joey is a baby. And this animal is very capable -- you've got to see here -- see those back feet there? That's his means of defense. When he gets big, that's a big claw. And he just lashes out with his back claw.
KING: And they go 30 miles an hour?
HANNA: Yes, if a dog tries to...
KING: Only found in Australia?
HANNA: Australia, right. And Tasmania.
KING: New Zealand?
HANNA: Not New Zealand, nope. But kangaroos are actually an animal that's hunted for their fur and they're considered a pest in a lot of parts of Australia. But I love the kangaroo. We have kangaroo walkabouts now in zoos. Like Columbus has one, the Wildlife World Zoo in Phoenix.
KING: What was that great animal we had on the last time from Australia that you only had here once? The Qantas theme? The koala bear.
HANNA: Oh, the koala bear -- that's exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: And this is a Bennett wallaby.
HANNA: Now, this is the largest wallaby, Larry. Remember, a wallaby is a kangaroo. It's just much smaller. That kangaroo you saw -- you know the red kangaroo -- can get to be five or six feet tall. This thing is full grown. It's called a wallaby.
There are very different type of wallaby. One of the wallaby's full grown is like this big, like 12 inches tall. And then this wallaby here, you can see he's gotten pretty large. Looks like a kangaroo, doesn't it?
KING: Does he hop?
HANNA: Oh, yes. You're talking about -- they can go like 20 or 30 feet. But see the different, kind of, Larry, in the looks? Maybe you don't.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Yes, I see it.
HANNA: The head's a little bit different. But this is a wallaby. Some people say it's a whole new -- it's not. It's a kangaroo, basically just much smaller when it grows up.
Now, you see the tail. This tail here, he's used his balance for the animal when he's sitting there getting ready to hop. Look at those back legs. This is a perfect example here of what -- if you can hold on just this one second.
That's OK. I don't want you to get kicked. But that's the claws on the back there. And they use that for balance, the tail.
Thank you so much for bringing the wallaby. That's beautiful.
KING: Beautiful. Kookaburra. Oh, I love this. (CROSSTALK)
HANNA: You know what a kookaburra is?
KING: No. It just looks pretty.
HANNA: Oh, it's unbelievable. It's from Australia. And they eat like snakes and things like -- will he do anything -- not really?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not on camera.
HANNA: Larry, this animal is incredible when he talks.
KING: He talks?
HANNA: How does he go? Help me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (KOOKABURRA SOUNDS)
HANNA: Perfect. That's exactly how it goes, but much louder. Very good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was trying.
HANNA: Very good.
KING: Kookaburra.
HANNA: A kookaburra. Remember that, kookaburra.
And there are -- they really blend in with the forest over there. But the animal really has a call there like no other in the forest. You can hear it from miles away. And it's actually -- the call of this animal is what they use in the old Tarzan movies back in the 1930s and '40s, even though it's from , it's used in the...
KING: And it flies?
HANNA: Oh, yes, yes. It's called a kookaburra. I just wish it would say something. From Wild Wonders, thank you very much.
KING: And a millipedes, called the thousand-legged worm.
HANNA: Yes. Oh, wow. Look at these. Man, we've never had so many of these. I love these things.
Now, these, Larry, are a neat animal. These are ones I see a lot in the forest in Africa. We find these millipedes. They get to be huge. Like this one here is really big. Look at that. Look at the legs of this one. Look at those. Look at that, Larry.
I'll hold that still. Look at that. Can you imagine (INAUDIBLE) for that? Now, Larry, they emit cyanide, a poison, cyanide.
KING: Really? HANNA: Yes. That's how it kills a lot of vegetation stuff. They go along the ground. They eat dead things. You see these all over the place in Africa, all over the ground with rotten leaves and things like that, called a millipede. Obviously, then you have the centipede and the millipede. Centipede bites sometimes, but the millipedes don't bite.
KING: I like to watch them move.
HANNA: Oh, yes. It's unbelievable. Unbelievable animals.
KING: Animals are unbelievable.
HANNA: Ninety-eight percent of the world is insects -- I mean, I'm sorry, living creatures. About, 99 percent. Think about it. Ants and anthills, millions, you know?
KING: We have an extra added attraction, folks, a hedgehog. We used to call one Herbie the Hedgehog.
HANNA: Yes, remember, we bought these -- but the boys are sick tonight. So we're going to bring them next time. These are our African pigmy hedgehogs. Usually, I can pick these up. I can't pick these up.
KING: No, no, no, they hurt.
HANNA: See there? The hedgehog, that's his means of defense. He gets a little ball like that. You can't -- it's not like a porcupine.
KING: There's a person in there. There's an animal in there.
HANNA: Oh, yes. And you know, the kids have little stories on hedgehogs.
KING: They're noisy.
HANNA: Yes. Now, this is one of the only animal that we know of, Larry -- one of the only animals that snake venom cannot hurt this animal. They've done a lot of research on this.
Remember, see, this doesn't throw its quills. See, I can touch it like this. But it's just that I can't pick it up. For example, if I was an animal (INAUDIBLE) I can't get into it. I can't do anything to hurt it.
KING: What's that noise?
HANNA: He's telling me to stay away. Now, at nighttime -- ow, that thing -- boy, those things are something. I'll tell you something. Usually, I can pick them up. Can't touch them tonight.
KING: Wow.
HANNA: I'm glad the boys didn't touch those. KING: Herbie the Hedgehog and his friend, Harold.
HANNA: They're neat. A lot of stories written about the hedgehog.
KING: We've got another plus. We've got a scorpion. We've got one here? Bring it on.
HANNA: Thanks, Jackie.
KING: We're in our waning moments.
HANNA: Oh, man, these won't bite, will they? Or do they sting you. Are you sure?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure.
HANNA: Holy mackerel.
KING: She saved that until the last...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: I've seen these -- oh, man, you're braver than me. Holy mackerel. The sting of that, Larry, could kill some people.
KING: What are you, some kind of comic?
HANNA: No, I'm not a comic. Am I right? Tell him (INAUDIBLE) if they have a bad sting like a bee sting -- look at that thing, Larry. Look at the stinger. Honest to gosh, I wouldn't do it.
KING: Wouldn't it be great to perish right here? You know, stay tuned for LARRY KING DEAD.
(LAUGHTER)
Well, this is something. (INAUDIBLE) I feel him, and he's crawling.
HANNA: Oh, I know.
KING: And he kind of like...
HANNA: You're brave. He won't...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: I'm nuts. No, no, OK. Time to take him.
HANNA: Don't hurt him. Don't hurt him. Don't hurt him.
KING: Time it take him, because I'm starting to -- whoa, phew.
We want to thank the folks at Wild Wonders, the Animal Guys who helped make tonight's show happen. As always, we thank you. HANNA: Zoo to you.
KING: Jack, zoo to you, baby.
Host of the popular syndicated program, "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures," director emeritus at the Columbus Zoo, and for all the animals, both human and otherwise here at CNN, thanks for joining us. I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Thanks for joining us on this edition of LARRY KING LIVE. An animal of the news world is next. Yes, the animal anchor himself, Aaron Brown and "NEWSNIGHT." We'll see you tomorrow night. Thanks for joining us. Good night.
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