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"Jungle" Jack Hanna visits Midland

From Snakes, to flamingos and yes, even a sloth, there were plenty of animals for Jungle Jack Hanna to introduce to the hundreds who piled into the horseshoe arena Sunday afternoon.

MIDLAND, TX (KWES) - From Snakes, to flamingos and yes, even a sloth, there were plenty of animals for Jungle Jack Hanna to introduce to the hundreds who piled into the horseshoe arena Sunday afternoon.

It was Hanna's second time in the Basin, and he attributed his return to the great people and the great buildings.

"I've been to Texas a lot," said Hanna. "But the people here are nice and the people are interested in wildlife. Plus I can not believe the building here. I've done a lot of shows over the years, but this thing is so multi-use, it's been great."

During the show, he shared videos and stories of the animals, even allowing a few children up on stage to occasionally feed and pet an animal or two.

He says "touching the heart and teaching the mind" is his goal when he does events like Sunday's.

"So I hope tonight we touch some hearts and I know we taught the minds," said Hanna. "Because people will never get to see a sloth in the wild, I bet you 90 percent of the people will never  see a sloth. That's why I do these speeches, it's also why I'm very much involved in the zoological world. Because that's what we all have, is to teach people about the animal world. You can't love something, you if you can't save something."

But for Hanna, though giving people a once in a lifetime chance to see wild animals in Midland is important, he hopes they go home with at least one lesson learned.

"I hope what people learn here tonight is that the animal world, really is the people world," said Hanna. "In other words, when you go to places and they talk about the conservation of animals, we have to think about the people first. Remember, there are human beings there and if you can't teach the people, you can't save the animals."

Hanna said he hopes everyone enjoyed the speech and also guaranteed the safety of all animals involved in the show.

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