Hanna published his autobiography, Monkeys on the Interstate, in 1989. Hanna was named director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in 1992. The annual attendance of the Columbus Zoo increased by over 400% during this time.
Over the course of Hanna's tenure as director, the zoo made the transition from cage-like enclosures to habitat environments, and the grounds were significantly expanded. Hanna's live animal demonstrations on Good Morning America and David Letterman's talk show incarnations brought national attention to the Columbus Zoo as well as to Hanna himself. From 1981 to 1983, Hanna hosted a local television program, "Hanna's Ark", which aired on the local CBS affiliate in Columbus, WBNS. He also realized the importance of increasing the profile of the Columbus Zoo in central Ohio to get more public support and funding, and the " everyman"-seeming Hanna proved to be very well-suited to public relations for the zoo. Hanna initially struck many as a "zealous" zoo director, often traveling around the zoo grounds after closing to personally pick up trash. She recovered by the age of six, although she needed to have a brain tumor removed later in life.Īt the time he became the zoo's director, the grounds of the zoo were unkempt and the facilities run down. When he was offered the position at the Columbus Zoo in 1978, one of the reasons he accepted was because he believed Columbus Children's Hospital had the best treatment available for his daughter Julie's leukemia. He worked for a wildlife adventure company and directed the small Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens from 1973 to 1975.
Hanna settled a later lawsuit out of court, shut down the petting zoo, and moved his family to Florida. In 1972, a three-year-old boy was mauled by a lion at Hanna's farm after the boy slipped past the protective barrier and stuck his arm through the enclosure fence, subsequently losing the arm. Hanna (left) reenlists Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Richard Youhan with Seamore, the sea lionĪlthough unable to secure zoning as a zoo for his family's farm, Hanna and Suzi opened a pet shop and petting zoo.
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