Wildlife expert Jack Hanna began his career at age 11 cleaning cages and caring for animals at a veterinarian's office in Knoxville, Tenn.. Forty-eight years later, Hanna is one of the world's most popular wildlife advocates, with more than 50 video documentaries and countless TV appearances to his credit.
"I told myself when I was real young that I wanted to be a zookeeper someday, so I pursued that dream, and that's what I did," Hanna said.
At 7 p.m. tonight at Emens Auditorium, Hanna will share stories from his career as a zookeeper and his experiences in the wild. Hanna's show is free and does not require tickets.
Hanna usually leaves the stage before each show to converse with the audience, he said. Hanna varies each of his shows to cater to his audience, and tonight he will incorporate stories from his experiences on the Late Show to make his presentation more relevant to Ball State University students, he said.
Animals Hanna will present include a cheetah, a binturong, a serval cat, "a snake or two" and several birds of prey, he said. Hanna will also weave in video footage from his travels around the world, such as his trip to Rwanda, where he filmed a special on mountain gorillas. The show will conclude with the showing of a blooper reel documenting some of Hanna's more humorous encounters with wildlife.
Hanna's presentation is part of the Marie Smith Gray Lecture Series, which began in 1986 to provide free public lectures promoting cultural and scientific understanding.
Emens director Bob Myers said the Marie Smith Gray Fund receives about $20,000 each year. Most of the money allotted for the 2006 fund will pay for Hanna's presentation, Myers said.
"Hanna is usually a ticketed event that costs $15-$20, and we're able to provide it free of charge to the community," Myers said.
Myers said he thinks Hanna's presentation would be of interest to many groups around campus, especially wildlife biology and telecommunications students.
"It will have some educational merit as well as being entertaining for the kids and people who like to see animals," Darcy Wood, Emens associate director of marketing, said of Hanna's show.
Hanna makes media appearances not to increase his own popularity but to raise awareness about the animal world, he said.
"What happens to our earth's resources will eventually affect animal life, which will eventually affect human life," Hanna said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist or a doctor to figure this out."
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