Jack Hanna's Wild Earth Day Countdown

Seen from Southern Brazil, I did a double-take when I saw these massive falls – nothing short of spectacular! My fearless daughter, Kathaleen, convinced me to take a boat into the lower river to get a really close look at the action!

Seeing a mountain gorilla face-to-face in the Rwandan mountains has been the most incredible experience of my life! The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has a rich history supporting gorilla conservation and research – Suzi (my wife) and I try to visit Rwanda once a year to check-in with our conservation partners and see the gorillas ourselves.

The wildlife of the Galapagos was made famous through Charles Darwin’s research in the 1800s. The funny-looking blue-footed boobies do a clown-like courtship dance, showing off those big blue feet!

Glacier National Park is one of my favorite places on Earth! Sue and I hike in Glacier several times each summer – the scenery and wildlife is unparalleled. I’m standing near Grinnell Glacier – close to where Sue and I were charged by a yearling grizzly. Luckily, we had bear spray!

To me, zebras have one of the most striking coats in nature! Their stripes blend together making it challenging for predators, like lions, to single out an individual zebra from the rest of the herd.

Found only on the island of Tasmania, this is one of the fiercest critters I’ve seen -- especially at feeding time!

Even after visiting Africa more than 50 times, I still stare in awe at any elephant sighting! At the Columbus Zoo, it is no coincidence that my Base Camp is located directly across from our Asian elephants!

At this small south pacific paradise, I took part in the Hawksbill tortoise conservation program and even got to release one!

Penguins and ice, penguins and ice, penguins and ice -- that’s what we saw in Antarctica! Gentoo penguins love the frigid weather, but did you know that 11 of the 17 penguin species live in warmer climates? Just recently we mounted a camera in our Humboldt penguin habitat at the Columbus Zoo -- check it out: www.yourzooview.com.

We traveled to Kenya’s Great Rift Valley in search of flamingos, and weren’t disappointed. The abundance of algae in Lake Nakuru attracts these delicate birds by the millions!

Suzi and I love photographing the unique vegetation as we travel the world -- this might be one of our favorites! The “Hot Lips” plant is nestled in the rainforest amidst sloths, snakes, and more!

We were all set up to film prior to dawn…when the sun came up and the sunlight hit Ayer’s Rock, it seemed to come alive -- like a huge fire-orange glow from outer space! Ancient cave paintings tell the stories of the Aboriginal culture -- these people call this sacred ground “Uluru.”

These wolves move in packs (ranging from 5 to 30 individuals). Extremely wary of people, they are almost impossible to observe in the wild, but we lucked out while filming in Montana!

It doesn’t get any more majestic than this! These giraffes seemed to “dance” effortlessly across the savannah as they galloped along. In 2014, the Columbus Zoo is opening “Safari Africa” -- can’t wait to welcome giraffes back to town!

High in the Andes (at 12,500 ft.), the El Tatio Geyser Field is a virtual series of eruptions -- shooting steam and boiling water out of the earth’s surface -- I almost burned myself! Definitely one of the most unique landscapes I’ve experienced.

This is one of the funniest-looking monkeys I’ve seen! Inhabiting the hot rainforests by day, they high-tail it to trees overhanging the river at dusk to avoid predators while they sleep!

A visit to Africa will change your life forever -- I know it did for me! After a full day of observing an abundance of wildlife and visiting with the local people, a fantastic sunset is the perfect end to the day!

Looking like an overgrown groundhog, the wombat can weigh over 50lbs and waddles when it walks! I had the pleasure of sharing lunch with a few wombat friends at the Australia Zoo, where my family had the honor of meeting Steve Irwin’s family.

I was amazed at the small size of so many of the tree frogs that I encountered in the Amazon – some were only an inch long! Did you know the amphibians are one of the most threatened groups of animals on the planet? Thirty percent of amphibians are threatened with extinction. To learn more and help make a difference, visit http://www.amphibianark.org/.