Jack Hanna’s family shared a heartbreaking update amid the famed zookeeper and TV host’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
The 77-year-old former director of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s family released a statement in which they said Hanna’s condition has worsened as the degenerative brain disease progressed.
“We wish we had good news to share, but Jack continues to decline and has all the symptoms one would anticipate with advanced Alzheimer’s,” Hanna’s family said in their statement to People magazine.
“Each day, we do our best to find joy – even when things are challenging,” they continued.
“We hope that sharing Jack’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s brings awareness to the disease that affects almost 7 million Americans and their families.”
Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common type of dementia, is a progressive brain disorder that affects memory, thinking and behavior.
Over time, symptoms become severe enough to interfere with daily tasks, per the Altzheimer’s Association.
The disease usually progresses through three stages – early, middle and late. Late-stage Altzheimer’s is sometimes referred to as “severe” or “advanced” in the medical community.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, people in the late stage of the disease lose the ability to respond to their environment, communicate and, eventually, control movement.
In April 2021, Hanna’s daughters Kathaleen, Suzanne and Julie, whom he shares with his wife Suzi, revealed their father’s diagnosis for the first time.
“Today we reach out to share some personal Hanna Family news. Doctors have diagnosed our dad, Jack Hanna, with dementia, now believed to be Alzheimer’s disease. His condition has progressed much faster in the last few months than any of us could have anticipated. Sadly, Dad is no longer able to participate in public life as he used to, where people all over the world watched, learned and laughed alongside him,” Kathaleen, Suzanne and Julie Hanna said in a joint statement shared on their father’s X page, formerly Twitter.
Hanna, who is also known as “Jungle Jack,” served as director of the Columbus Zoo from 1978 to 1992.
He then took over the role as its spokesperson, a role he retired from in 2020.
In addition to being a notable figure in the state, Hanna also appeared on several television programs as a wildlife correspondent, bringing people and animals together.
He starred in “Animal Adventures,” “Into the Wild” and “Wild Countdown” and was known for his several appearances over the years on morning talk shows and late-night TV, including “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Larry King Live,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” “Hollywood Squares” and “The Maury Show.”
In June 2023, Suzi, Kathaleen, Suzanne and Julie told the Columbus Dispatch that Hanna’s condition had worsened to the point where he was unable to remember huge chunks of his life, or even his family.
They said that Hanna can only remember Suzi, his dog Brassy, and, occasionally, Kathaleen.
“My husband is still in there somewhere,” Suzi told the newspaper at the time.
“There are still those sweet, tender moments – you know, pieces of him that made me and the rest of the world fall in love with him. It’s hard. Real hard some days. But he took care of me all those years, and so it’s my turn to take care of him.”
Suzi remains his main caretaker, with help from their children when they can make it to their parent’s home in Montana.
Their daughters said they have begged Suzi to get professional help to aid in Hanna’s care, but she refuses, saying, “I just want it to be your dad and I for as long as I can.”
“The river, the sun, Brassy, our walks… That’s what we have left. The Jack people knew isn’t here anymore, but pieces of my husband are. And I’m going to hang onto them for as long as I can.”
