Jack Hanna diagnosed with dementia, family says his health has ‘deteriorated quickly

At least a pissed off stingray didn't puncture his heart.

I always liked Jack's humor.

and..? Is this truly newsworthy? Isn't he really old?

He’s seemed somewhat out of it for some time, if you ask me.

74 is not THAT old...

YES, it is.

He's been crackers for years.

Aw. I have always liked him.

He's just an exotic animal pimp, trotting them around on the talk shows, defending SeaWorld for cash, etc.

Conservationist my ass.

74 is not old at all. That’s very young for Alzheimer’s. This is a real shame. :(

Always showed his big package by squatting down and holding animals.

Horrible disease. It affected someone in my family. They are practically immobile and we have gotten accustomed to speaking about them like they are not even in the room.

I have a feeling his health 'deteriorated quickly', as in as soon as the family finished looking into how much $$$ they'd get when he kicked....

Fuck you, 2021.

This is extremely sad. I have always liked him. He was cute and loved animals and seemed like a good guy.

Ah, this makes me sad.

Jack was a hot daddy.

Sad news.

I used to teach second grade in one of the Columbus suburbs back when the zoo was just starting to become a big deal under him. He came to our school once and after the assembly literally went class to class (with a snake) and talked with the kids personally. I was really impressed by that. I’m sure the kids never forgot.

Sad news. I always liked the cartoons he did with his partner. Wonder how Joseph Barbera is taking all of this.

I was saddened to read this today. I watched Letterman religiously on his late night NBC show and enjoyed Jack’s visits. Part of his appeal was that he was so hyper and didn’t always have the best control over the animals.

A coworker and I were just talking about dementia/Alzheimer’s today. Her father-in-law has it very bad right now and he’s only 70. What a horrible disease.

save those slopping piles, oldies!

I hope he remembers how smokin’ hot sexy I always thought he was.

He may have had knowledge animal sexual abuse at the Columbus Zoo, where he served as Director and then Director Emeritus. Reportedly he allegedly refused to do anything about it, made light of it, and helped cover it up.

[quote] Columbus Zoo & Aquarium Director Emeritus Jack Hanna resigned his position and formally severed other contractual ties to the organization on Monday, more than six months after allegations of romantic relationships between humans and animals at the zoo first came to light. In early January, rumors of sexual impropriety at the zoo started reaching the Columbus ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), which launched a formal investigation shortly thereafter.

[quote]Hanna’s involvement began in February, when he was first asked by ASPCA investigators whether he was aware of any inappropriate activities being undertaken by zoo staff. Although Hanna answered no at that time, emails and other documents released by the zoo later revealed that he was indeed aware of the activities and had taken steps to cover them up.

[quote]One email, addressed to “J.J.” (Jungle Jack) in November of 2010, read as follows: “Terrelle Briar (zookeeper) let some guys in last night. Gave access to Kiki’s cage (female koala bear). Heard a lot of gasping and grunting. One man mentioned ‘banging hairy Australian ass.’ Concerned they were having sex with her. Should I inform Rick (Zoo Manager)?”

[quote]Hanna responded by saying he would look into the matter personally, but never did. Instead, he reached out to Briar’s hometown mentor, Ned Karniak, a man he first met in 2008 when he was recruiting the nation’s top zookeeping prospect to bring his talents to Columbus.

[quote]In a text message sent to Karniak, Hanna said, “Terrelle may be caught up in something here in Columbus. May involve animal ass and penis. Please call me ASAP.”

...

Again: "conservationist" my ass.

Ha-ha.

I never liked his vocal delivery. I found it grating, and uneccessarily loud. But I'm sorry he's having to go through this. It should be reserved for people like DJT.

The delaware county news site is a bad version of The Onion. It’s not real. That being said it was the top of the news tonight in Columbus and follows a couple weeks of bad news that’s seen the CEO and CFO leave the zoo due to financial impropriety

R25, thanks for the correction.

I was sad to hear this this morning. I don't know how much of his act was genuine/put on but he played the harmless goof thing well.

I am 65 and have been having dementia problems myself for the last few years. It has been progressing quite a bit this last year.

He's still a jerk-off.

Jack Hanna is dead to me. Just watched it on the news. The animals have lost a friend. RIP

R2- He was so YOUNG and good looking on the Lettermen show. He's SO OLD looking now.

My mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's in her early 60s. She's now 67 and has declined a lot in the past year, to the point it's hard for her to string together a complete sentence.

She saw the news and when asked how she felt about it, answered, "Sad." But nothing else. (For some context, she knew who Jack Hanna was and visited the Columbus Zoo many times over the years.)

I always wonder: to what extent does she know what's happening to her? Can she grasp she has the same disease as Jack Hanna? And when I talk to her and try to keep her mind active -- "Mom, what's your favorite bird?" "I don't know." "What about the red one?" "Oh yes, I like cardinals" -- does she know I'm talking to her like she's a child? Does it bother her?

What does she think about? She tells me, "I talk to God a lot." What does she tell him? (I am agnostic, but I know she takes -- or took -- great comfort in her faith.) Is she scared to die? Does she understand she's dying? Will she still "talk" to God when she loses her ability to communicate with the rest of us?

As someone mentioned upthread, it's a terrible disease.

My dad had dementia and died a couple of years ago. He didn’t really get bad until his 80s, and he still knew me until the end. Well, I think he sometimes just knew he was SUPPOSED to know me. It was so sad. He was always an active, fit, outdoorsy person, but had to spend the last year and a half or so of his life in a small apartment in his nursing home. I did have some of his sisters to help me with him sometimes, but it really fell to me to be in charge and handle everything. My mother and only sibling passed away years ago. I would have loved to have been able to resolve some things with him before he was gone, but it’s not to be, and now my whole immediate family is gone. Sigh.

Anyway, poor Jack Hanna. I always thought he was a hot daddy.

[quote] The animals have lost a friend. RIP

Naif.

He shouldn’t have to quit. I mean look the president and he does just fine with his dementia! 🤡

Give it a rest, r34

This is wordy so skip it if you’re not interested.

I’ve talked about my great aunt on here in the past. She was such a wonderful woman. Never heard her say a negative thing about anyone. She was widowed fairly young and had one son who became an alcoholic. She didn’t have a real relationship with him because he was so bad. She raised her grandson and lived alone when he moved away to university. She was very active - going to church every Sunday and walking downtown to get her groceries. She would then take a taxi home.

Around age 90 I noticed she was repeating things in conversations when I’d visit her. Then, as time passed, she talked about spending time with people who’d been dead for years like her mother and father. She’d say, “I milked cows with dad today.” My family was worried because we didn’t think it was safe for her to be alone anymore. We were afraid of her leaving the stove on or not locking her door at night.

Her grandson soon moved her closer to where he lived. We’d go visit her an hour away. She was in a nursing home the final years of her life and Alzheimer’s took its toll. She eventually no longer recognized us before finally losing the ability to speak and walk. Soul crushing. She lived to be 100, but the last 10 years of her life I wouldn’t wish on anyone. It doesn’t seem right that such a good person’s life ended this way. I think of her sometimes.

These threads always make me tear up.

I knew losing my mom to Alzheimer's would be hard. But in my naivete, I never thought it would be this hard.

THIS is what it sounds like when doves cry.