Jack Hanna

Jack married to his college sweet heart, Suzi Egli in 1968. He has three daughters. Eldest daughter Kathaleen is married to an Englishmen & is settled in United Kingdom. Second daughter Suzanne lives in Cincinnati with her husband & four children. Youngest daughter Julie stays with Jack & works at Columbus zoo as animal educator.

Jack was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on January 2, 1947. His father owned a farm outside Knoxville. When he was eleven, he worked with his veterinary doctor as a volunteer. This was the time when he developed love for animals.

He attended Kiski All Boys boarding school in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1968, he graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree, from Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio. He majored in business & political science.

He met his life partner Suzi Egli during graduation & got married. After marriage they opened a pet shop ‘Pet Kingdom’ in Knoxville.

In 1973, after closing the pet shop, Jack became a director at Central Florida Zoo. In 1975 he took a break from the profession to take care of the family responsibilities.

Two years later in 1978, he joined Columbus Zoo as executive director. He worked around to raise funds for the zoo as well as its public profile. He left this job in 1992 due to pressing schedules & became ‘Director Emeritus’.

From 1981-83, he hosted a local television program, "Hanna's Ark", which aired on the local CBS affiliate in Columbus, WBNS.

His appearance on ‘Good Morning America’ and ‘David Letterman's talk show’ brought national him attention and increased the attendance of the Columbus Zoo by over 400%.

In 1988, he appeared in the show ‘Larry King Live’ along with zoo animals. This year he also published his first book ‘Monkeys on the Interstate’ about his adventures & work at Columbus zoo.

When Jack joined Columbus zoo as a Director, the condition of the zoo was not very good. The public attendance was very low & the animal habitats were in bad condition. Jack designed & operated many educational & entertainment events. As a result, the footfall at the zoo increased significantly. He met people and leaders from different sectors of society which helped him raise funds to transform the zoo & the aquarium to the state-of-art facility.

In 2013, he started working with a coral reef conservation project -‘Score’, in Curacao.

In 2014, along with Betty White, Jack opened a 43 acre African Savanna where guests can experience wild life closely.