You Never Know Who You'll Meet En Route

It was two years ago- in the summer of '07 - while en route to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro that I ran into some new friends. While standing to check into our flight heading from London to Ethiopia's capital city- Addis Ababa, I couldn't help but wonder just how I knew the guy standing beside me. And than it clicked- it was TV host an animal expert Jack Hanna, who you'll know from his regular appearances on David Letterman, Ellen and his Emmy winning show "Into the Wild." Hanna and his wife Suzi were traveling to Rawanda to produce a documentary with Natalie Portman on the famed Silverback Gorilla's.

With our flight cancelled and our schedule's delayed Jack, Suzi, myself and my travel mates Sue Lambert and Colin Herbert had the chance to share some laughs and time while traveling south to our destinations.

We stayed in touch and that meet and greet turned into some additional adventures. Over the next year and a half I worked with Travel Alberta and a host of folks who helped to produce a stellar road trip featuring some of the best of the best of what this Province has to offer in terms of wildlife. It was just through August Jack, Suzi and the team from Spectrum Productions traveled together through Alberta, Canada filming episodes for upcoming episodes of Into the Wild.

And I joined them.

Follow along through these daily dispatches as we cover some of this province's top adventures.

For more on Alberta and all is adventures check out Travel Alberta's website

The Calgary Zoo's Red Carpet Reception

The last time 'Jungle Jack', Hanna's long time aka, visited the Calgary Zoo was in 1995. So he was excited to get back, and what he experienced floored him as we stopped in to check things out as part of his eight day tour through Alberta.

Hanna's has been to a few zoo's in his day- not only does he produce 36 shows in a year – but zoo's are his business. As Director Emeritus of the Ohio’s Columbus Zoo, he’s been a major force to its substantial success. He’s done more than well with it, taking it from an 100 acre facility to a 600 acre park dedicated to education and conservation, recently named America’s #1 Zoo.

I caught up with the crew on day two of their travels shooting show's for an upcoming episodes of Into the Wild. The first stop was Waterton Lakes National Park- A Unesco World Heritage Site. "Waterton is like something out of a picture book, it is beautiful. One of the only places like this in the world, there are only a handful of other places, such as Switzerland that are this beautiful," said Hanna. The crew from Spectrum Production's, Hanna's team who have produced Into the Wild for the past three years, were happy with the footage they captured for upcoming episodes.

Hanna was excited to get back into the Calgary and experience the zoo. “Zoo’s now are about discovery about education, you can’t have conservation if there is no education,” said Hanna, a major proponent of animal conservation and any efforts help the animal kingdom.

“Its gorgeous, things looks so realistic, its so nice when you feel like you are in a natural environment," said Jack's wife Suzi who co-hosts the show upon arrival to the Canadian Wild's Section of the Calgary Zoo. And she's right, the habitat's that are home to the big horn sheep and mountain goats, really do give you that feel of being in the rockies, complete with local flora and fauna.

This is where our 14 hour day at the zoo got started, a little taste of what us Canadians's know and love – Big Horn Sheep, Grizzlies, Swift fox and owls. The Swift Fox is an amazing success story for the Calgary Zoo, who have helped to re-introduce them to the wild. Head of the Centre for Conservation Research Dr. Axel Moehrenschlager- did his thesis on these animals, at Oxford, and than came to the zoo to head their conservation efforts around it including re-introducing these species to the wild. Dr. Moe played host to Jack and Suzie as they made their way around the zoo.

A date with a painter named Kamala

The man is not in the animal biz for no reason- in travelling with one of the world’s top animal experts you get a sense that animals respond to his very presence. It was early, 6:45am at the Calgary Zoo, and regular David Letterman guest Jack Hanna was prepping for his nation wide appearance on CTV’s Canada AM, in the background was a very sleepy Koala. But when he saw Hanna making his final preparations, just seconds before show time, the Australian bear came to and posed for the camera, right above Jack’s head. This was just the start to a magical behind the scenes day at the zoo, full of laughter and activity amoungst Jack’s film crew here to shoot upcoming episodes of Jack Hanna’s EMMY winning TV series Into the Wild.

For a look at the clip from Canada AM- please click here

We stopped into to film Mountain Goats, Grizzlies, Swift Fox and spent time with owls, giraffes, red pandas, hippos and one of Canada’s most prolific artists. Kamala, the Calgary Zoo’s 22 year old African Elephant has painted over 6,000 pieces of art in support of conservation and improving her environment. As an enrichment project with the animals, she has been painting for over 10 years, but never before had she taken up her craft on an Ostridge egg. Jack and Suzi worked with Kamala, they held ‘em while the elephant got out her brushes and went to work. It’s amazing that her trunk can not only easily hold the brush, but also navigate over the canvas or a surface such as the egg.

The Calgary Zoo is on 100 acres mostly on the island, surrounded by the Bow River. “It’s gorgeous, it’s so nice when you feel like you are in a natural environment,” said Suzi Hanna- Jack’s wife and co-host of the show upon arrive. The Rocky Mountain habitats teleport you 100 km west of Calgary and bring them right into downtown Calgary. “This place is a jewel for Calgary, Alberta and the country of Canada,” said Suzi. “I think the Calgary Zoo is one of the top 20 zoos on our planet,” said Jack.

After a huge day of filming, dinner that night was certainly required and what better a spot to fuel up than on some local fare- from the River Café found on Calgary’s other populated island- Prince’s Island. The River Café has been here for five years and it was to Suzi’s joy when she made the discovery of the local producer’s scrapbook. Much of the Café’s menu items come from local ranchers and farmer’s. It’ll be this October that the Café welcomes back their producers for their annual feast they serve them than. I think I need to go back for another of their mixed berry Danish – this is a stellar spot for dinner.

A Sight for Wide Eyes

What he saw as he walked through the doors floored him. “You walk into this place and you are met by the Red River Hogs, then when I looked across and saw those giraffes, I couldn’t believe it, I thought they were stuffed. Then you look down and see the hippo enclosure, this facility is an impressive sight,” said Columbus Zoo Director of Emeritus Jack Hanna. The Calgary Zoo’s Destination African exhibits are enhanced by the African Savannah, home to this outstanding collection of animals. “Traditionally see these animals in solitary confinement, never all together like this.” The hippos looked so happy you could see them smile. And they sure were thrilled to pose for the cameras with Jack and Suzi.

Remember the game as a kid hungry, hungry hippo?

I'd say they modeled the game after the African and the Nile ones here at the Zoo. With mouths wide open, Dr. Doug Whitehead explained the view of these sizable canines, “their teeth self sharpen. As the teeth come down on each other, they sharpen together, they are like daggers.” It’s why Hippos are one of the most revered in the animal kingdom, while on a canoe in Africa they could chomp right through the boat. But in person they are big and cuddly, you can see here in these photos of Jack and Suzi hanging with the hippos.

The day at the Calgary Zoo continued with a trip to the Gorillas. Check out David Letterman on the 9^th of September, Jack Hanna appears with footage from one of the most funniest occurrences in Jack’s 35 year history in working with animals- certainly the most funniest in his 25 year TV career.

A good night’s stay was had at the Sheraton – located right next to the Eau Clair Market in downtown Calgary, home to regular farmers markets. The Sheraton even have a mascot you can walk. Clarence is a two year old golden retriever who upon request is game for a walk along the Bow River also next to the hotel.