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CNN Larry King Live
Jack Hanna and His Animals
Aired November 24, 2010 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight Jack Hanna brings his zoo to you.
What's on my head? We've got a snow leopard. And we've got alligators. And a camel. All right already. Snakes and a screech owl for starters.
We're giving thanks to Jack and all the animals. It's a wild and woolly hour. It's next with Cannon King on LARRY KING LIVE.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
KING: It's the holiday season. That can mean only one thing. The return of Jack Hanna. The director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and host of "Jack Hanna in the Wild," one of the great shows on American television.
We have a bunch of animals. Later on, Cannon King, my younger son, will be aboard.
Jack, how are things going?
JACK HANNA, DIRECTOR EMERITUS, COLUMBUS ZOO: Good. Good. Just got back from the Amazon jungle so it's been some great shows coming up on the series.
KING: Any place you haven't been you want to go?
HANNA: No. I have been trying to find Big Foot for several years, can't seem to find him in the Himalayas.
KING: But you've been everywhere in the world.
HANNA: Everywhere in the world. Yes.
KING: All right. Let's meet our animals for the Thanksgiving weekend. We start with the snow leopard.
HANNA: Right. This is the animal here, Larry, that I probably will never be able to film in the wild. It's my daughter Julie from the Columbus Zoo.
KING: Hi, Julie.
JULIE, JACK HANNA'S DAUGHTER: Hello.
HANNA: And this is a snow leopard, Larry. It's probably one of the rarest cats in the entire world. The zoological world is putting a lot of money into trying to save this little leopard in the wild.
This animal is only a cub about 17 weeks old. Now feel the paw of this thing. I just want you to feel how beautiful it is. See how light it is?
KING: Wow.
HANNA: Isn't it amazing? This coat, Larry, sells on the black market. When the cat's full grown about 160 pounds or so, this coat sells for about $60,000 on the black market. That's what happened. The cat virtually is a solitary cat. So when the female cycles this animal cannot even find a female.
This tail, Larry. This is an incredible tail. This tail on this car, when it's full grown, gets as thick as your leg and about five feet long and wraps around him. So at temperatures anywhere from like 50 to 60 below zero, it's like a jacket for this cat.
Dave Attenborough is the only one who's really filmed this cat in the wild ever and did a great job at it.
KING: The snow leopard.
HANNA: Even fur grows at the bottom, if you see here. Isn't this gorgeous?
KING: Amazing, amazing animal.
HANNA: You want to touch him one more time because you very rarely get to do this.
KING: What a -- what a feel.
HANNA: This is -- specie survival plan, Larry, for the American Zoo Association.
KING: Our next one is the adult porcupine.
HANNA: Yes, I don't believe --
KING: I suppose, a child porcupine.
HANNA: This is from Zoo to You, the David Jackson. This -- how she picks -- you want to pick this up?
KING: No. And I will not touch those thorns. I made that mistake once.
HANNA: Yes, you did, didn't you? But see right here? Look at this. This is the African porcupine, Larry. You have the North American porcupine, which is not anywhere this big. The North American Porcupine, the -- KING: There you go. Leave the clock alone.
HANNA: The South American porcupine, Larry, and the African porcupine. Look at those quills. These are used for weapons. By the way, these are used also for makeup in a lot of -- a lot of people that do TV makeup, they roll the porcupine quill, they roll it on your face for makeup.
KING: By the way, he has a nice smell.
HANNA: What?
KING: He has an invigorating smell about him.
HANNA: It's a different smell. It's more of a -- like a BO smell, but yes, he does.
KING: No, I don't smell that. I smell a nice smell.
HANNA: Well, maybe you didn't --
KING: I like him.
HANNA: But, Larry, these quills are used for weapons in Africa. These are used for weapons. Look at this, Larry. You can let Larry touch these. Put them on each side of him. Look it right here. Aren't those cute, those little babies, Larry?
KING: They still --
HANNA: I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you. When they're born, their quills -- it takes about 24 hours. Their quills get hard, Larry, when they're born. You can show Larry. You can put it right in front here on the desk. I want you -- see me walk around, Larry. Isn't that beautiful? Little African porcupines.
KING: Is that's his relative, huh?
HANNA: Oh, yes, that's his baby, or her baby, yes. And can you imagine, Larry, obviously -- hold him right there, yes. Can you imagine --
KING: What a beautiful little girl you are. Hello.
HANNA: And again, you made a good point. The quills -- they do not throw their quills. When you touch the quill, Larry, it comes out in your hand. The North American porcupine has a barb, Larry, only it out. The North American porcupine has a barb on the end. You cannot see -- just out of barb. In a lot of lands, hyenas try to eat the porcupine, they die from the suction from the quills in the mouth.
KING: Good luck. OK.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: Adult and the baby crested. Now the binturong. HANNA: We got some quills here. Take these home for the kids, Larry. Wait a minute. Got to make sure we don't -- they can take this for show and tell. Look at this. That's pretty good.
KING: Hey, Cannon, show and tell.
HANNA: Yes, for Cannon. Show and tell.
KING: Porcupine quills.
HANNA: Yes, right there. That's very good. This animal here, the binturong.
KING: The binturong.
HANNA: Yes. Let me get this pulled, I don't want him to get the quills there. This is the binturong. Also called the bearcat. Now when I was filming just several months ago in Malaysia, this is where this lives. It's called the bearcat. (INAUDIBLE), the fur is like a bear's fur. Looks kind of like a cat. They're nocturnal in a way.
This prehensile tail, will tell you, Larry, if you can see this tail back here. This tail is one of the strongest prehensile tails of any -- any animal in the world. This tail right now, if it wrapped around you, it could literally choke you to death. But that's not what he uses it for.
He uses this tail to hold himself up in the air when he's in the tree tops and lean down and grab something on the next limb down. But this animal also smells like popcorn. Just like popcorn.
You see his whiskers? Those whiskers allow this animal to hunt at nighttime. He feels with his whiskers as he crawls along. Look at that foot there, look at those claws. He can tear apart anything with those claws. But feel that for me. I want you to feel it.
Of course it's kind of like a bear's coat if you ever felt a bear.
KING: Yes.
HANNA: Hence the name bearcat. Again this animal is nocturnal in that part of the world. You very rarely would ever see it. Some people in that part of the world try to use this as a pet. That's not a good idea because this thing can take your hand off in a split second.
KING: One more in this segment. The kinkajou.
HANNA: The kinkajou. Now a kinkajou is also called the honey bear, or a kinkajou, from zoo to you. And this is an animal here that has a prehensile tail as well. If you can hold him up here, you'll see.
I'm sorry to say, Larry, this animal here, it was used for the pet trade way back in the 1960s and '70s. That's no longer done. KING: It's not a pet.
HANNA: No, it's not a pet. This one is nocturnal. Look at the eyes there. Look at the eyes on this creature. See there? His tongue is about 6 inches long. It's called a honey bear because of the honey coat there. And they also love honey. Bees cannot penetrate this fur, by the way. When he gets to the beehives. Because that penetrates this coats on him. The coat -- the animal's also hunted for its coat --
KING: He's very cute.
HANNA: Even in the wild -- in the jungle there in South America, we see these. They are green, they look like moss, because algae grows on them. They're like a big blob of moss, these animals do.
And again, look at this prehensile tail here. That leaves him in the trees there. Beautiful picture.
KING: Well, we started off great. We got lots more to come on this edition of LARRY KING LIVE with Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo.
You don't have to walk a mile for a camel because he's coming to you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: OK. We're back with our favorite, the camel. I will feed him. What is he eating?
HANNA: He'll kiss you. Bring it over toward your face, he'll kiss you. Here go ahead. Go see Larry.
KING: What is he eating?
HANNA: It's like a grain, a pack grain, like hay and grain. Camel, Larry, is one of the oldest beasts of burden if not the oldest beast of burden in the world. The camel -- people think of camels in Middle East, that type of thing. But there are really more camels in Australia now than there are in the Middle East.
Let Larry feed you. Just got to watch out when he spit, that's all.
They also have - they also have two eyelids, Larry. In sandstorms they have two eyelids. Their ears are very small because of standards.
KING: All right already.
HANNA: Larry, this animal is incredible. This animal is very important -- keep feeding him. This animal is very important from the standpoint when you go across the desert, let's say, for three or four weeks, as people do, this animal provides clothing. If it were to die, it provides tools for the bones. It also -- and also that hump up there is not water, that's fat up there. And guess what? When you take a camel safari, Larry, you have to eat the camel's dung. When you go to the bathroom, there's no trees in the dessert, right? So they dry the camel's dung out, you know, put them on the camel's back and they dried out and they cook their meat when all -- it tastes -- it tastes kind of -- not tasty but it tastes different. You know because --
(LAUGHTER)
KING: I don't -- I imagine. OK.
HANNA: Tastes pretty good, though.
KING: This is it.
HANNA: From Zoo to You. But Larry, also, the camel is a great animal. You can ride him but be careful. Have you ever ridden a camel?
KING: I rode one in Jerusalem.
HANNA: You want to ride one now?
KING: Yes.
HANNA: You want to ride this one?
KING: No.
HANNA: Yes. I'll help you get up there.
KING: No. I'm not going to ride him in the studio.
HANNA: OK. I thought it was a good idea.
KING: I'll take him out on Sunset Boulevard. And a great sense of humor. There he goes.
HANNA: OK, that's good.
KING: And now we have the opposite of the camel, the bettong.
HANNA: Yes. Great efforts from the Wildlife World Zoo, right, Greg?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
HANNA: Yes. In an aquarium. That's in Phoenix, and it's a beautiful place. I don't know what this is, Larry. Looks like a rat, doesn't it? What is this thing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is actually a type of marsupial. It's related to kangaroos and wallabies. And the females actually have a couch. And you could see he has the same kind of characteristics, a long tail and big teeth for a typical kangaroo-wallaby -- HANNA: So it's not a kangaroo?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a kangaroo, but it is a distant cousin, if you will, to the kangaroo because of is similar structure --
HANNA: It's a marsupial?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a marsupial.
HANNA: From Australia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Tasmania. In fact, this is an endangered species because of (INAUDIBLE) populations of cats and dogs and rats.
HANNA: Get out of here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have killed off the population. So this is actually endangered species. .
HANNA: Got a --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's called a bettong.
KING: Bettong.
HANNA: Bettong. Yes. OK. I've heard of bettong, I never saw one. This is unbelievable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of rat-like but --
HANNA: He is rat-like.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they're nocturnal.
HANNA: I think he should be a kangaroo myself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a cousin.
HANNA: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they do hop.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Ah, here he is. The wallaby.
HANNA: That was good. The wallaby. Yes, here's a wallaby. OK. He should stay right there.
KING: If he gets bitten, he laughs. These people are nuts.
HANNA: This is a baby wallaby. Is this a baby wallaby?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a kangaroo. HANNA: A kangaroo. It's a baby kangaroo. I'm sorry. This is a red kangaroo, Larry. They're just getting ready to come out of the pouch. About 9, 10 months old.
Larry, a kangaroo which we have rightly here -- that's a wallaby. Look -- we've never had this before, Larry. Look at this. We have a wallaby. This is a baby wallaby. All right. A beautiful animal.
KING: Wow.
HANNA: This is from where? This is from --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wild Wonders.
HANNA: Wild Wonders. It is right here is a big red kangaroo from Zoo to You. Now look at this. This animal, Larry, we'll point something out to you. This animal's here foot. See the back foot there a second. The back foot. Right here. You see that claw back there?
KING: Yes.
HANNA: That claw is like right here. You can look at it better on this one. See there? See the claw? That thing is about six inches long. Big red kangaroo stands about six feet tall. That's his last means of defense. If a dog or animal comes up to you, they kick out like that. They've got one guy a couple of years ago lost his wife in Australia trying to corner a wild kangaroo. This is very rare. That's never been happened before.
KING: They hop, right? They hop.
HANNA: They hop. It's an icon animal of Australia. If you ever go there, Larry, it's a fantastic place to see wild animals. The animal's tail is very long. Used for balance. And they're a marsupial. You know what that means.
KING: No.
HANNA: The baby develops in the pouch. It comes down the birth canal looking like a worm, OK? Crawls in outside -- into the pouch.
HANNA: What is that?
KING: I like the sound effects, like I'm in a jungle.
HANNA: Yes. As a matte of fact, bring that animal out here while we got sound effects.
KING: Good-bye. Here comes the kookaburra.
HANNA: It's not a kookaburra.
KING: He's a kookaburra.
HANNA: Do something, can you make him -- UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talk. Come on, Tucker.
KING: See, when he wanted to come on, he made a whole fuss.
HANNA: Exactly. I know. He didn't --
KING: Now he's on, he don't need it anymore.
HANNA: This is a kookaburra, Larry. And these animals do eat like the little snakes and frogs, that kind of thing, in Australia. And you heard his voice back there just a second ago.
And out in the outback at nighttime, you hear these things, it's really a unique sound, it really is. Beautiful bird. Thank you for bringing that today.
KING: Jack, you're going to take a walk first now, I understand.
HANNA: Yes. Yes.
KING: And you're doing this because, what, this animal is sensitive?
HANNA: Let me get out this way here. They said come like this. So I'm going to come like this. OK. This right here is a -- this is a -- what is it? It's a black swan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an Australian black swan. And this is obviously a water fowl, type of water fowl.
HANNA: Come here a bit. Come here. Hey, come over here. Real quick. Come here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the nicest Australian black swans you're ever going to meet.
HANNA: Yes. Yes. Come here, kid. Don't worry about that. Just bring it -- hold it in your hand, that's OK. That's good. OK, go ahead, you want to touch this? Cannon -- no, he can let him talk. Let him talk. Wait. This animal here, bend down a minute.
Larry, you got to be very careful. A lot of kids have to understand something. This animal here when they're full grown sometimes they can be pretty rough. People need to stay away from them when they have babies, all right?
The big white swans can break your arm if you're a little child or something. But right now this is one that he's raised from the Wildlife World Zoo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, I absolutely would not approach most swans.
HANNA: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But she's been with us her whole life. HANNA: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And these are plant eaters. They're swimmers obviously. And just a beautiful specimen.
HANNA: David, a lot of -- a lot of golf courses use this animal to keep the Canadian geese off the golf courses because Canadian geese don't like them. Do you like that?
CANNON KING, LARRY KING'S SON: Yes.
HANNA: What are you chewing? Can I have a piece of that?
C. KING: Yes, gum.
HANNA: Like that.
KING: All right. We're taking a break.
Florida fans, we got a couple of treats for you. A couple of gators are with us. Yes, no kidding. And they're for real. The real deal next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: It's Jack Hanna night on LARRY KING LIVE. That was little Cannon, my younger son there. He'll be back later.
And our next animal coming up is the serval.
HANNA: This is a serval cat. The serval cat, Larry, is one that you don't see that often in Africa. The animal is a --
KING: He hops, he jumps.
HANNA: Yes. It's a very different looking creature, isn't it? Like a small cat. And the animal is one that was obviously killed for its pelts. But it takes about 10 of those to make one coat.
This animal also is an animal that can jump six feet in the air and catch a bird flying. That's how fast. If you notice, you can't see it now, but the front legs and the hind legs are different lengths. It's like a polo stick. It just jumps up. I've only seen it one time. You see what I'm talking about the back legs there.
The cat also about 60 percent of its diet -- 60 percent -- oh. That's pretty good, wasn't it? Sixty percent of its diet -- I was getting ready to let you hold him.
KING: Don't get him near me.
HANNA: No. Sixty percent of his diet is insects, believe it or not.
KING: And the other 40 percent is meat.
HANNA: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNA: But the serval cat is -- if you look at the back of the ears, Larry, you notice the two white spots?
KING: Yes.
HANNA: It's like a lot of animals have it. Those are -- for a predator might be coming up to get him, he just turns his back like if he's eating something, and they think it's his eyes looking backwards. Just amazing what Mother Nature does with these animals.
And of course the tail is very unusual. These cats follow herds of elephants, Larry. I've seen it follow herds of elephants and giraffes. They almost like -- and they kick up all the dirt and all the insects, and snakes are kicked up. So they follow about a mile behind the big old animals. They're kicking off the dirt and that's how they eat with their feet.
KING: Survival of the fittest.
HANNA: The wild, yes.
KING: All right. Next is the finick fox, the red fox, the great fox, the arctic fox. It's fox street.
HANNA: The finick fox is the smallest FOX in the world. It's from the Sahara Desert. But this one, Larry, is full grown. Seven years -- about 7 years old. The Sahara Desert, Northern Africa. It also get almost -- it can go its entire lifetime without ever drinking water.
Water comes from like the big black scorpions, for example. Little poison -- little snakes, lizards, whatever it might be. The animal will get -- come down at nighttime. Lives a very -- yes, the ears. The ears are very important, Larry, like an elephant has big ears to keep it cool. You know because a lot of blood vessels in there like a radiator.
This animal has a lot of blood vessels in his ear because he lives in the desert. That keep it cool. So not just for hearing, it's for keeping the animal cool.
KING: The grey fox.
HANNA: The grey fox -- the grey fox, Larry, is kind of like the red fox. It's got an odor in him. You can smell the odor there right now. But this is a gray fox. The fox, Larry, people don't understand foxes. They're adapting to our environment just like the coyote has. Just like the wolf is kind of doing the same thing.
These animals are very social. They're just like the wolf. People don't understand, the wolf is a very social creature as well. When they make a kill, they can feed the sick, the old, the young first. And then they regurgitate that food to them. Then they also eat, themselves, last.
But the fox is a very cunning as a fox. This animal is cunning as a fox, trust me. They're very, very bright animals.
This is an arctic fox, Larry. This animal is turning white right now. You know, but in the arctic circle when a polar bear makes a kill, Larry, the arctic fox death that point smells and cleans up like the hyena does.
That's what -- he lives off the polar bear. What the polar bear doesn't eat, the arctic fox is there. Thank you so much for bringing that out. Beautiful.
KING: It takes seconds.
HANNA: Yes, it takes seconds. But the coat, Larry, is magnificent in the winter time. Turns out a --
KING: And now the gator. This is not a crocodile, right? What are these?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are baby gators, baby alligators.
KING: A baby alligator.
HANNA: If he bites, you don't throw it down. No, no. I just said if he bites you.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: I said if he bites you, Larry.
KING: You mean if -- his feet might --
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: I know. I know. I didn't want you to get nervous.
KING: I'm a Jew.
HANNA: I know, but I meant to tell you. You've seen alligators in Florida, haven't you? Have you?
KING: I've seen alligators.
HANNA: Yes.
KING: Yes, of course. I lived in Florida for 20 years.
HANNA: OK. I want you to hold this one then. Just hold this one. This is a smaller one.
KING: No, you hold this one. What do you want? What do you want? Showbiz?
HANNA: But these are little baby alligators here, Larry. These are baby alligators.
KING: What's wrong with your football team?
HANNA: This right here, Larry, this animal here, let me show you something. If the camera can look at this eye here a second? We can focus on his eye over here. This eye where my hand is.
Watch this, Larry. They have two eyelids. See that? I'll do it one more time for you. So if this animal is underwater, Larry, you'd think he's sleeping. OK? He's not sleeping at all. See there? See what it does there? Yes.
KING: Shifty.
HANNA: Yes. He also has sensors. Right in here, they have sensors. For example if somebody's kicking in the water, they can pick up the vibrations up to two miles away under water. They animal dates back to the dinosaur era. They can live up to 75 years, Larry.
This animal also lays eggs. People don't realize that. The animal has a little flap in the back. I can't open his mouth right now because I don't know -- want to try it?
KING: And what's --
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: No. Let's try something. Let's try --
KING: Quick.
HANNA: Well, try and make it as quick as we can but I don't want to hurt Mel. This is Mel. This animal, Larry, has crushing power, pretty strong. But let me see something here a second. Just hold on a minute.
You see -- now, look down his throat, everyone. Do you see that? See there's a flap back there.
KING: He don't like it, he ain't happy.
HANNA: He's fine. There's a flap back there, Larry.
KING: Yes.
HANNA: All right. Thank you, thank you, Mel. That flap keeps water from going in there. The alligator again is an animal can go up to about eight months without ever eating. It's --
KING: What's the biggest difference between it and a crocodile?
HANNA: Crocodile's nostrum is much narrower. These ridges are much taller. Plus the alligator I think the biggest one was 14 feet, maybe 1400 pounds. I saw a crocodile, Larry, in Malaysia that's just a few months ago, it was 23 feet and weighed 2,100 pounds, a crocodile. Our good friend, you know, a good conservationist, Steve Irwin, taught us a lot about the crocodiles.
KING: I love Steve.
HANNA: And alligators.
KING: OK. We'll be back with more. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Another Jack Hanna holiday extravaganza.
HANNA: We mean this, Larry. You know -- in the last 21 years, I've named six lemurs after you. This is a red rough lemur. It's called a presimian. What's a presimian means? A -- here we go. Go see Larry.
KING: Larry the Lemur.
HANNA: Larry, a presimian, Larry, it means pre-monkey and pre- ape, Larry. Pre-monkey and -- this animal was on the planet before monkeys and apes. Look at those little hands on that creature, just like your hand. Isn't that amazing?
This is one of the largest lemurs. Red rough and the black or white rough lemur.
Remember, Larry, there used to be maybe 60, 70 types of lemur. Today we're down about to 26 to 27, is what I'm told.
KING: And what is this one?
HANNA: The Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, has done more for this animal in the wild than about any zoo in the entire world, Larry. Trying to save them. The animals were hunted for their coat and meat, but now that's -- stop. Stop.
They're from Madagascar. They're not from Africa. Out of the Madagascar, the east coast of Africa, about 1,000 miles out there in the ocean.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNA: Feel that tail, Larry. Feel like it is. That tail is not a prehensile tail. It used to locate their mates. They live out anywhere from 25 to 50 in the family. And you can see -- you can see that the animal -- you see, Larry, they also have -- they have scent glands on their arm pits they mark their territory with. They also have two little teeth in the front, Larry, that they -- they crack open nuts and little fruits. As well as groom each other.
Now you want to see here, see what he's doing? He's marking your desk right there, I think -- yes, that's what he's doing.
(LAUGHTER) HANNA: Yes. Look here, Larry. Hold him up so he can groom -- I can show Larry how to groom him. You can take his little armpit, Larry --
KING: Have a little water.
HANNA: You don't mind, do you?
KING: Well, have a little water.
HANNA: They just carry hepatitis, that's OK. No, you really don't want to have one of these as a pet because they are -- they can bite your fingers off.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come here.
HANNA: I'm sorry, Larry. Larry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
KING: It's OK. No problem.
HANNA: Sorry. Is that important?
KING: No, it's not important. It's water on the desk.
Welcome back to the "LARRY KING LAKE."
HANNA: Columbus Zoo --
(LAUGHTER)
KING: As we greet the three banded armadillo.
HANNA: Look at this, Larry. This is the --
KING: The six banded armadillo. The nine banded armadillo. Do we have the hairy armadillo, too?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right here.
HANNA: The hairy armadillo.
KING: The hairy armadillo. There they are.
HANNA: That's the name of a band.
KING: It's the armadillo quartet.
HANNA: Exactly.
KING: We have no bananas? Go ahead.
HANNA: But Larry, I want people to see this at home. Look at all four of these armadillos, everybody. The three banded right here. This is very, very rare in Brazil. This one I got my hand on. The three banded armadillo, OK? This is -- (INAUDIBLE) armadillo right here. That's a three banded. From Brazil.
KING: Silk.
HANNA: Yes. This one here -- what's this one?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Six banded.
HANNA: All right. Six banded. Where's this one from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: South America.
HANNA: All right. All right. This one here -- Larry, feel this -- feel this thing, Larry. Is it prehistoric or what -- what do you think? It's unbelievable.
KING: I guess prehistoric.
HANNA: Yes -- and by the way, their sight is very bad. Their eyesight, their hearing, they smell. They can say they hear a worm about eight inches underground. So this armadillo here is one that a lot of people -- not this one -- in Florida, Louisiana, down into Texas, out into Mexico, a lot of people eat the armadillo. You see thousands of them. But this one's very rare here.
KING: Why -- you toast it, what do you do?
HANNA: No, it's kind of like a taco -- you don't toast it. It's like a taco. You cook it in the fire like a taco.
KING: I don't know anything about cooking. I don't.
HANNA: No, that's what they say. I haven't eaten them before. But I don't like that. People in the jungle do that.
Anyway, these are all prehistoric animals. They say the prehistoric armadillo, they weighed 1,000 pounds. Can you imagine that, coming down the road? Unbelievable, is it?
KING: Yes.
HANNA: They say they can hear a worm 6 to 8 inches underground. That's what I can't believe.
KING: Look at that. All right, let's meet the 50-pound water monitor.
HANNA: That's a good name for a band, I think, the armadillos.
KING: The Gray Stafford.
HANNA: Now, Larry, don't let this thing bite you.
KING: Is this a snake?
HANNA: No, no. This is a lizard. Which one -- what is this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a water monitor from Asia.
HANNA: Wildlife World Zoo?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HANNA: A water monitor. Now, Larry, you've heard of the kimono dragon, right?
KING: I have heard of the kimono dragon.
HANNA: All right. You see this tongue here? You see the tongue, Larry? All right. What's that tongue doing right now? That tongue is smelling something right now, you understand? He's picking up particles in the air. Right, Gray?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
HANNA: Now, Larry, if this animal bites you, it's not good because like the kimono dragon it bites. And even if it doesn't eat you or anything, it knows, it will find you at a week later because you're going to die from infection.
And these claws are very sharp. Its tail is like rigid on the back. They also fight with it. So it's a very -- again a very prehistoric animal. One of the largest lizards in the world, I think.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is.
HANNA: Second or third largest lizards in the world.
KING: Wow.
HANNA: See, it's very important. That tongue picks up particles. He smells little old me. Yes. That's good.
KING: Good-bye.
HANNA: -- Stafford, one of the greatest biologists in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Jack.
KING: Finally in this segment, a Palm Civet.
HANNA: This animal here has been one of my favorites for many years. Can we put him on Larry's shoulder?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure.
HANNA: He won't hurt you. Just don't try to touch him. Get on his shoulder. He don't hurt you.
KING: What do you mean, don't try to touch him?
HANNA: You're fine. Just don't eat his ear piece though.
KING: What do you mean, don't try to touch him? HANNA: You can touch him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to give him a banana?
KING: No, I don't want to feed him. It's dangerous enough having him on me.
HANNA: Yes. Larry, this is in the mongoose family. You remember the SARS disease, Larry, that killed a lot of people, remember in China, eight years ago? This is the animal that caused the SARS disease. Not this animal, I'm sorry. Not this animal. this species of animal. OK. Because people eat them as a delicacy in Asia, OK, 200 dollars in a restaurant. The coat is used for fur.
You remember (INAUDIBLE) coffee? The coffee bean animal, goes in the stomach, throughout the interesting, out on the ground with a film coating on it, and they sell it for 400 dollars a pound.
KING: They give it to Wolfgang Puck, his restaurants. OK. OK, leave.
HANNA: You have never seen Larry King mad with a Palm Civet.
KING: I don't get too mad. Hey, we're face-to-face -- Cannon King's going to join us -- with a bobcat, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back. This is my 10-year-old son Cannon King of fifth grade. His 11-year-old brother Chance did not join us. Those of you who have watched this show frequently probably remember chance jumping off the chair with the killer toad. He had two decisions to make. And one was not to come here. Okay. What do we meet first? Oh, a bobcat.
HANNA: A little bobcat. Cannon, what this is a little bobcat. All right? In our country, we have the bobcat, the mountain lion, which is a cougar. You see the bobcat, how beautiful it is. This is only what, about 14 weeks? A lot of people try to get their permits. You can't have these cats as pets. They're very, very -- can't do that.
This cat could take your hand off. These cats are very, very powerful and strong when they're older. The cat also has a urine smell that he marks his territory with. The bobcat is a solitary cat. It is also hunted for its coat as well in a lot of places. You get to feel its coat? Beautiful animal.
KING: Let's meet an albino Burmese python. Cannon knows this animal.
HANNA: Cannon knows this animal. Cannon, why don't you hold the head.
KING: Go ahead, hold the head. HANNA: Take it -- take it around Larry. Put it in front of Larry. Take it all the way around Larry. That's it. Put it over Larry's head.
KING: Are you insane?
HANNA: Hold his head. No, just hold his head. Cannon, you go ahead and put it on your shoulders. A lot of people think the python, Larry -- you have to know what you're doing. Hold his head. They have about 220 teeth shaped like fish hooks. Now, when this animal -- it's not poisonous. So if he bites you, just don't try and jerk your hand away. Get him away from his ear.
All right, when he bites, he goes like this, OK. He cannot let go. His jaw muscles freeze, Cannon. Cannon, you listening? His jaw muscles freeze. And then it takes about 30 minutes. He relaxes his jaw muscles. You have to sit there. If a snake bites you like this, you sit there. You understand, Cannon? OK, you got that.
They lay eggs as well, by the way. Good job, Cannon. That animal there could go around you, and he squeezes you, and every time you take a breath, Cannon, like this, he goes like this. That's how he eats his prey. He can go up to about eight months without ever eating anything. Again, he's got the same amount of teeth. The anaconda -- you've heard of anaconda? They have live babies. This lay eggs.
KING: He's seen the movie 800 times.
HANNA: You've seen that movie. People don't have to be afraid of snakes, do they? Tell them Cannon.
KING: You're not afraid of snakes?
CANNON KING, SON OF LARRY KING: Not really.
HANNA: That's got. This is Monty Python, by the way. This next animal coming out here. Come over, Cannon. I forgot --
KING: You got to walk with him.
HANNA: Cannon, you got to walk over here. You want us to go behind there or in front? Go behind there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In front.
HANNA: In front. Let's go this way, Cannon. What's that noise, Cannon? It sounds like grease, doesn't it? You know what that is? That's a rattle snake.
Now, Cannon, why is this snake doing this? It's very important you understand something. That snake is doing this to tell you to stay away. People should not get bit by rattlesnake. You understand. You've never seen one this close, have you? Neither have I. What you do, Cannon -- I want to show you how this snake can jump out. Let's see what happens. I don't know if it's going to happen or not. You see the rattle back here? See back there? See it?
C. KING: Yes. Is that what's making the noise?
HANNA: Exactly. That's what's making the noise right there.
C. KING: I thought it was the tongue.
HANNA: No, no, not the tongue. This is the rattles here. See him. It's about a 15-year-old snake. I'll let you put it up and see what happens. They're beautiful creature, aren't they? In it's own way, it really is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fast as can be as well.
HANNA: See here? Isn't that amazing? Sounds like hot grease, doesn't it?
C. KING: Yes.
HANNA: There's no reason to get at all. Let's show it one more time. Let's see if he'll do this. I don't know if it will happen or not, because it's just really so fast. He might have already eaten. That's why he's not striking right now.
C. KING: Today?
HANNA: Yesterday, yes. That's fine. I don't want to -- they're a neat little creature. Just make sure you always stay away from them. Tell your brother what you just did. He won't believe it.
KING: Oh, boy. Know why they call it rattlesnake.
HANNA: You see why it's a rattlesnake now. A lot of people never get to hear that. It's very important that people at home heard that.
KING: We'll be back with more animals. And later, a reminiscent segment. Back by popular demand, the Bush Babies are next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back on LARRY KING LIVE. my son Cannon. Jack Hanna our special guest. More animals coming forward. And this is a --
HANNA: This one here I think, Larry -- this -- is this the cuanamundi (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
HANNA: This is just -- when I just got back. Look at this, I just got back from the Amazon, all right? This is called a Cuanamundi. It's akin to our raccoon in our country. you have to keep everything shut. Our tents, when we're in the jungles there, we have to keep everything shut, because these animals can get into any tent, any house, almost anywhere. It's like a raccoon but even more inquisitive than that, believe it or not.
See how it looks like a raccoon in a way? That beautiful long tail there. Long noise -- longer than our raccoon's nose. But that's really what I call a South American raccoon, also called a cuanamundi, nocturnal animal. Loves fruits and all sorts -- it east eggs. It eats mammals, that type of thing.
KING: It likes to lick women's eyes.
HANNA: There's quite a few of the cuanamundi left. See how he's digging around in there? She's got fleas. We didn't want to that. That's what he's looking for, all the fleas there. This is from Wild Wonders, by the way. Wild Wonders does a ground job.
KING: The ground horned bull -- horned bill.
HANNA: Now this one here, Cannon, this is a unique bird here. Isn't this something? Cannon, this is one we film in Africa, all right. This animal is another animal that follows herds of animals like zebra and elephants and things that kick up the dirt and everything. Kick up the ground.
C. KING: How does he throw it up and catch it?
HANNA: That's what he does. That's the way he has to put it down his throat. Isn't that neat? Here you do it. Here.
C. KING: Can he catch it in the air when you throw it?
HANNA: Here, put it in the palm of your hand. Come over this way. Go this way. Come here, look there. Elvis, Elvis. Is that neat or what? Give him another one. Why don't you work at the zoo?
KING: He could work at the zoo. And now we bring -- go.
HANNA: Give Larry a nut. There we go. You got him.
C. KING: It has a huge wingspan or something.
HANNA: You should see him fly, beautiful wingspan.
KING: The Bush Baby.
HANNA: These animals we see in Africa a lot of times. In the daytime, they're just a bill old ball of them. In daytime, they all get together for a means of protection, all right. A nocturnal animal again. Eats a lot of insects. As a matter of fact, what he's eating -- let me see something here. Look at this, Cannon. He's eating -- see this -- little meal worms. See the little meal worms?
C. KING: Are they alive?
HANNA: Yes. Here put one in your hand. See him crawling? We eat this. If you want to, you can eat it. You can. I'm not joking with you. I've eaten them before. You can put them in grease and fry them and eat them. They're not bad. Come here, buddy. The Bush Baby is a unique animal, Larry. It's a little creature there. Again, nocturnal. Very important, it's a pollinator as well. It means it pollinates -- its defecation will treat a -- like a bee might pollinate, through its defecation, this animal pollinates. Feel that fir, Cannon. Just feel the fir.
C. KING: It can use it hands to --
HANNA: He's actually got little hands, right. Is that something. Found in Africa, all right? Beautiful animal, the Bush Baby.
KING: OK, next, the chinchilla.
HANNA: Cannon, this animal here -- I'm gonna tell you something. Do you mind, Cannon? This is from Wild Wonders. I want Cannon to do this, Larry. Feel that animal. Feel that. Tell me something, have you --
C. KING: So soft.
HANNA: Let Larry feel that, because you will not believe the chinchilla, the softest fur in the world.
KING: That's the fur women buy.
HANNA: Yes. This animal, by the way, you know how it cleans itself? It takes dust bathes. The chinchilla takes dust baths to keep clean, believe it or not.
C. KING: It has red eyes?
HANNA: Yes. This animal has probably the softest fur I think in the entire world. You cannot it -- it's almost like-- I can't even describe it.
KING: The Sugar Glider.
HANNA: I think these are from Australia, right? Yes. Here we go. Look at that thing. Isn't that neat, from Australia. See the big eyes? Show the camera there. See the big eyes.
C. KING: Eats the same as same thing as the Bush Baby.
HANNA: Something like that. The Bush Baby's from Africa. This is from Australia. What they have -- they have big flaps. You ever heard of a flying squirrel? They have big flaps of skin underneath their arms here and they fly.
Now some people raise these, by the way, Larry. Some people raise these as pets. You be very careful when you do that to make sure they have a beautiful home. You don't want to buy wild animals ever. These animals are from the wild. There are some people that are -- who use these as pets. I don't know if I'd recommend it or not. But it all depends on if you know what you're doing and you really want to pursue animals like I do. If you study and you have a beautiful home for them, that's one thing. It also has to be -- make sure it's not against the law.
But this animal is a sugar glider. Right here, Larry, you see the flaps of skin? I don't know if you can see this or not. The big flaps of skin right here, it allows this animal to glide. See that? See there? See that? It's like a wing for him when he puts his arms out. Like a big old wing.
KING: And now we have a possum.
HANNA: Yes, a possum again. It's our North American Possum.
KING: Plain possum. Where does that come from?
HANNA: Wild Wonders. Plain possum means -- very good point. What happens a lot of times when it's real hot, like real cold in Ohio, whatever states -- when an animal plays possum, they lay down on the road to stay warm in the asphalt. They're just sleeping. Some people say they're playing possum in the road. They're not. They're not dead. A car didn't hit them.
It's the only marsupial we have in our country. These animals have about 10 to 12 baby at one time. After about two weeks, they get on the mom's back and ride around. They can breed in less than one year. A kangaroo can't do that. This is a possum.
KING: I think he likes you.
HANNA: They're adapting to our environment too, Larry.
KING: Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWS BREAK)
KING: OK, what do we have here?
HANNA: Look at this. Isn't that something? This is a millipede. Look at those legs.
KING: How many legs does he have, Cannon?
HANNA: How many legs he got, Cannon?
C. KING: No idea.
HANNA: It has to be like 500, Larry. I don't know. Look at that. Is that amazing? Look at him. How'd you like to buy shoes for that thing? Wow. I've seen these in Rwanda even bigger than this, by the way. They're phenomenal creatures. They kind of go on the forest floor, eat all the mulch and the leaves and things like that. Very important here.
Here, you can hold him. They do secrete cyanide. So make sure you wash your hands. It's a means of defense. Don't worry about this. Look at this right here, though. Look at these right here. These are my favorites. These are my hissing cockroaches. Hold still. Don't move. There we go. That's nice. That's good. You like bugs? I hope you do. There we go.
For some reason, this does not want to stay on. There we go. I did this -- these are from Africa.
KING: Canon, I didn't know you were nuts.
HANNA: Look at this right here. Just hold that one a second. Just hold that one a second. Look at that, Cannon. What do you think that is.
C. KING: A scorpion.
HANNA: Exactly, a scorpion. Remember that little fox we had on earlier? That's what he likes to eat, these black scorpions. See that stinger back here?
C. KING: Yes.
HANNA: See there? That can sting you right there. Look at the pinchers. This animal would probably eat this in the wild. Let me put this one back.
KING: would a scorpion hurt you?
HANNA: Yes, it's got a good sting, real good sting. If you're allergic to bees, you might have a problem with this. I've been bitten in the foot by one. It was in my shoe in Africa. Cannon, don't worry about that. Check your shoes. When you go with me on safari, you have to check your shoes. Look at that thing.
KING: Is this a tarantula?
HANNA: Let me have your shirt. Just put it on your shirt a second. That's good. OK. Put it on his shirt there if he would. That's good. Isn't that neat? Whoa. What do you think of when you see that? Halloween. Huh?
C. KING: Yeah.
HANNA: Isn't that amazing.
KING: Highly deadly, black tarantula.
HANNA: Isn't that cute? They actually crawl out of their fur. I mean, their -- they can actually -- when they shed, they shed the whole outer being. It looks just like another -- looks just like another tarantula sitting next to it. They actually crawl out of that thing. Even the legs look like it.
KING: Have you no fear?
HANNA: You're something else. Let me tell you, I'm proud of you.
KING: What's next?
HANNA: You want to take this home? You can keep it. You don't?
HANNA: Larry, put this on here. One of my favorite things to do.
KING: Put this on. I've got water soaked pants.
HANNA: Cannon, you stay right here. Don't worry. Water soaked pants. Sorry about that. This is good now. Sorry about this. We're going to go like this. There we go. Now I'm going to hold it like this, Larry. These chin straps, you see here?
KING: Yeah.
HANNA: Hold those down like that. Hold those down like this. Don't try to touch them. Here we go. Come here. Come here. Stay right there with me. Here we go. Echo! Echo! Whoa. You all right, Larry?
KING: What's on my head?
HANNA: Come here. Where are you going? You want to do it? Yeah, he can do it. Come here. Let's let Cannon do it. Watch this. Let's -- can I try this right here? Do you think he'll come here. What do you think. Here we go, Cannon. Hold that down. Wait a second. Hold it tight. Hold the chin straps tight, OK. Don't move. Hold your head up there. You can't bend your head. OK?
Here we go. Echo! Echo! Whoa. Yeah. Can you believe that or what? Is that something?
C. KING: Yeah.
HANNA: Do it one more time. This is fun. OK. He might land on your dad's head. Let's hear it for Cannon.
KING: We'll be back with our remaining moments tonight with Jack Hanna. We'll look back at Jack's menagerie, all the animals he's brought here over the years, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Here's Cannon holding --
HANNA: This is one of the smallest owls in the world. This is a little screech owl. See this. Isn't that amazing. Look at the size of that. Doesn't weigh anything, does it? Can you imagine that? It eats little insects. That's the smallest owl in the world, like a little burrowing owl. You see the big Eurasian Eagle Owl. That thing is one of the largest owls in the world.
KING: He turns his head all the way around.
HANNA: Yes. He has to do that, Larry, because his eyeballs are so big, he cannot turn them inside his head like you and I can.
KING: Let's take a look at some of the things that have happened over the years.
(BEGNI VIDEO CLIP)
HANNA: He likes you.
he doesn't like you that much. Let's go over here and see somebody else. Thank you so much. No, let goes over here.
KING: First encounter with a -- never mind.
HANNA: Put him back over here.
KING: OK, let me get a break with Jack -- ah!
HANNA: Sorry. I wanted to show you the crab.
That's what I thought. How do you like this show? You like it? No.
KING: Louie, you want to come back? OK. You like LARRY KING LIVE, Louie? Yeah, there we go, Louie man.
HANNA: You should be a trainer. If he was on your shirt sleeve, I swear he wouldn't hurt you.
KING: You're going to put a praying mantis on my shirt.
HANNA: I want to show people how he climbs.
KING: Climbs?
HANNA: Just a little bit. There we go.
KING: Yeah, he climbs. OK. Fine. Cool. Now unclimb him. Unclimb him.
HANNA: I've got him.
KING: Praying mantis.
HANNA: That's his way of --
KING: Of what?
HANNA: Searching for prey and stuff.
KING: Jack!
HANNA: He's not doing anything. He couldn't do much. But the key to this is if you're ever --
KING: What could he do? Supposing the three of you weren't here and he sort of got me on the table. HANNA: I would --
KING: Say good-bye.
HANNA: Yes. But again, what we want people to realize --
KING: I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it. I swear I didn't mean it. I just wanted to touch your tail.
HANNA: There we go. There we go.
He's fine.
KING: That's fine?
HANNA: This is a vocalization, talking they do --
KING: What's he like when he's ticked?
HANNA: There you go --
KING: I don't think -- whoa.
HANNA: I guess a tape fell off over there. Tooky (ph) just took off around the world there on your world map.
KING: This is Larry the Lemur. My man, Lar.
HANNA: Here, Larry. No, I wouldn't grab him because he might bite. Put him on your shoulder. He has poison glands right here, Ben, right back there. so the dog eats it. No, he's not --
CHANCE KING, SON OF LARRY KING: Get it away from me. Get it off of me ! Get it off of me!
KING: It's OK.
HANNA: It's a toad. It's a toad.
KING: It's OK. He didn't bite you Chance. Chance, you're OK. He didn't bite.
HANNA: Chance is good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: One of the most viewed things in LARRY KING LIVE history, Chance King, his older brother, who has not returned.
HANNA: Larry, I'd like to do something if I could. This is for you all. I brought this from the Columbus Zoo, a frog for you and your brother. This right here, I've only done this once. I got this from Australia. I had this made. I know it's not the right size. But these are handmade for me, by the way, from Australia. Put it on the other way. That's it. Put that on. That's the first time I've ever done that, everybody. This right here is a proclamation. These are -- the only time -- three people in the history of the Columbus Zoo have lifetime memberships to our Columbus Zoo. For all you've done for the animal world, for you and your family.
KING: Oh, wow.
HANNA: This is a little citation that goes with it, upon your retirement. I know you're not going to retire, but I wanted you to have something. That's about all we can do for a person, Larry, who's brought so much to the animal world and the zoo world. What you've done for us, we can never, ever thank you enough. Thank you so much. I am not going to say good-bye, I'll see you down the road.
KING: Down the road.
(CROSS TALK)
HANNA: Rest of your life.
KING: Rest of your life, you can go to Columbus Zoo.
HANNA: You show them that card.
KING: A lot of people helped make this happen tonight. We thank the Wildlife Zoo and Aquarium, Conservation Ambassador Zoo, to you, Wild Wonders, the Columbus Zoo, Melanie Angelou (ph) and the amazing David Jackson, who I think was bitten and passed away earlier tonight. Only kidding.
We've had only four people die in doing this show over the years. We congratulate them all. And the last one could be the significant death owl. The death owl.
HANNA: No, it's a screech owl.
KING: More importantly, thank you, Jack.
HANNA: Thank you.
KING: For bringing us so much, lots of laughs and memories and being an advocate for our friends in the wild. We've enjoyed every minute. Hope you have, too. Stay tuned for the latest news. Say good night, Cannon.
C. KING: Good night.
KING: Good night.
