Jeff Corwin Read online

  Jeff chewed and chewed on the ants, but they would not die! The entire time, the ants were attacking the inside of Jeff’s mouth. They injected acid into his cheeks, gums, and tongue as they bit. Jeff compared the feeling to chewing on glass and battery acid. For several weeks afterward, even though he brushed and scrubbed his teeth, he pulled bits of dead ant from his teeth, gums, and even from behind his tonsils!

  Another time, Jeff was in Africa filming an episode of Going Wild with Jeff Corwin. He and his crew came upon a bull elephant. As he was working, Jeff watched the animal’s ears closely. He knew that if his ears were flat against his head, he might charge at them. Jeff reminded his crew that if the elephant did charge, nobody should run away from it. Elephants chase after things that are running.

  Jeff quietly watched the elephant. Then, all of a sudden, the elephant charged! But Jeff couldn’t figure out why—he’d been so still. That was until Jeff turned around and saw his entire crew running away! Jeff’s crew jumped in their vehicle and drove off. They had abandoned him!

  Jeff found himself alone with a very angry elephant. He quickly walked into the woods and hid behind a tree. At that point, Jeff’s crew drove back to the site. They saw Jeff’s hiding spot, but they also saw that the elephant was on to him!

  The elephant approached the tree and stuck its trunk around toward Jeff. From the truck, Jeff’s crew calmly warned Jeff not to move. The elephant gave Jeff a good sniff, and must have decided he smelled good because he started pushing down the tree!

  So Jeff moved to the next tree and hid again. Then he walked to the next tree and hid once more. The elephant finally grew bored with Jeff—he was too difficult to catch! Jeff eventually made his way back to the safety of the truck.

  When Jeff was finally out of harm’s way, his crew apologized for abandoning him. But they said they must have gotten a lot of great footage! However, when the footage of the elephant charge was viewed, it turned out to be nothing more than shots of the ground as the cameraman was running away! Everyone laughed about it in the end.

  Jeff’s Disney show was filled with adventures and was a wild success. It ran for more than four years. But sadly, in 1999, Going Wild with Jeff Corwin came to an end. Jeff was upset; he felt his dream job had been taken away too quickly. Jeff worried that perhaps he would never experience television success again.

  The same year, Jeff’s alma mater, Bridgewater State College, paid him a special honor, awarding him with a doctorate degree, or Ph.D., in education. They wanted to recognize Jeff for all his hard work in teaching others about caring for the environment and protecting endangered animals.

  Although his television show ended, with all of his new experiences, Jeff kept very busy. He decided to resume his graduate work at the University of Massachusetts, and also began doing speaking engagements to earn money. Because he was a famous TV biologist, students and other animal enthusiasts wanted to listen to Jeff speak.

  Through it all, Jeff reminded himself that although his television debut was a success, he didn’t want to stop there. He was determined to move on to the next step in television. It was his own determination that had gotten him a successful television show. And with his passion for nature and his love of performing, he knew he could, and would, do it again.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Creatures Great and small

  By 2000, Jeff’s television career was thriving again. That year, the Discovery Network executives heard that TV personality Jeff Corwin was a free agent, and they quickly got in touch with him. Jeff was thrilled. The next thing he knew, he became the host and executive producer of his next television nature show, The Jeff Corwin Experience.

  Jeff continued his graduate studies, finishing up his scientific research when he had time between filming. The Jeff Corwin Experience debuted in 2001. It aired in many countries to millions of viewers. Each week, Jeff takes his audience on a different journey to show them the varied wildlife on Earth, including snakes, crocodilians, primates, and eagles.

  Jeff wanted The Jeff Corwin Experience to be informative, but also a whole lot of fun! Jeff feels that humor allows people to let down their guard and enjoy the learning process. He included funny fantasy segments in many episodes. And while he presents interesting facts, there are a few gross-out moments, too—like when he developed an interest in poop!

  Feces, scat, waste, excrement—whatever you call it, Jeff has examined the poop of all creatures great and small. Jeff says that poop is a valuable biological learning tool. It not only tells you what animal is in the area, but also what it ate, how long ago it was there, how healthy it is, and even how big it is. Lots of information about an animal’s history can be gathered from poop! Jeff says, “People can pooh-pooh poop, but there is science behind it. You may never see a tiger in India, but a steaming pile of poop will tell you it was there!”

  And poop did just that on one particular trip to India. Jeff and his crew were there to try to film tigers. The heat was an oppressive 108 degrees Fahrenheit, and they were all exhausted after days of searching. But when Jeff stumbled upon a fresh mound of tiger poop one day, he knew the creature wasn’t far away!

  The crew soon uncovered a stunning female tiger. As Jeff silently watched the tiger from a distance, he realized the tiger was watching something else—very, very closely. Jeff looked around and saw a small sambar deer drinking from a nearby water hole. That deer was looking mighty tasty to the tiger. The tiger crouched low, and Jeff waited in anticipation.

  Suddenly, the tiger exploded toward the deer, swiping its massive paw at it. But the sambar proved too quick for the tiger. The deer leaped away from the tiger and scaled a steep slope to safety. Jeff says the experience reminded him that “for every successful hunt, there is an unsuccessful one.” Nature is fair that way!

  Like his other television shows, Jeff had lots of adventures while filming. Jeff often recalls filming an episode of The Jeff Corwin Experience in Namibia, a country in Africa. While on site, a cheetah popped up in the grass. Cheetahs are large cats and one of the fastest land animals in the world. These amazing mammals can accelerate to a running speed of more than sixty miles per hour in just a few seconds! Plus, they can sustain that speed for up to a thousand feet. Cheetahs used to be commonly found in open areas throughout Africa, the Middle East, and southwest Asia. But in the past one hundred years, unnecessary hunting and habitat destruction have reduced the cheetah’s range and population.

  The big cat was only about fifteen or twenty feet from Jeff and his producer. It started walking toward them, and Jeff’s producer warned, “You can’t outrun that cheetah.” Jeff cheekily said, “I don’t have to. I only have to outrun you.” Jeff never really thought the cheetah would attack, of course. It was just another example of his using humor to lighten the mood.

  The Jeff Corwin Experience also brought Jeff to the country (and continent) of Australia. There, Jeff came across one of Australia’s ambassadors—the koala. He observed how koalas are being harmed by the encroachment of humans on their habitats. For example, there is one area in which a road cuts straight through a koala habitat, and koalas are being run over by cars.

  Jeff is always saddened by examples like this. But he was also encouraged by the innovative solution Australian conservationists found for this problem: koala tunnels! Koala tunnels have been built below roadways as a safe pathway through which koalas can pass to the other side of their habitat. In order to push the creatures to the tunnels, fences were constructed along the shoulder of the road. These fences have floppy tops, rather than rigid ones. The floppy tops make it nearly impossible for a koala to scale and climb over the fence, where it would then be in the road.

  Instead, when the koala reaches the top of the fence, the fence flops over into the habitat, so the koala simply falls to the ground again. Then the koala walks along the base of fence, looking for an opening. That’s when it finds a koala tunnel! The koala can then walk safely through a tunnel that leads into another section of its habi
tat.

  While still in Australia, Jeff also encountered his favorite animals—snakes. In fact, he found himself removing a deadly snake from a woman’s bathroom. That’s right—her bathroom! Australia is home to some of the world’s most venomous snakes. In Adelaide, Australia, Jeff met up with a man whose job it is to remove these snakes from people’s homes. Snakes end up in private homes there more often than one might think! That’s because the city was built on and around snake habitats. So sometimes these creatures slither into places where they aren’t welcome!

  Jeff and the snake-removal expert arrived at a home in which an eastern brown snake had taken up residence. Eastern brown snakes can be up to seven feet long and produce a highly toxic neurovenom. Needless to say, the homeowner did not want this new roommate! When the snake entered the bathroom, the homeowner shut the door, trapping it inside. Then she called the snake guys to come to her rescue! The snake was carefully removed using a special tool called a snake stick and dropped into a bag. Then it was rereleased into its natural habitat.

  Filming of The Jeff Corwin Experience also brought Jeff to the Rufiji River in Africa. Jeff was riding down the river in a boat one day, enjoying the area’s wildlife and scenery, when he came upon a big problem. Well, about fifty big problems, actually. Surrounding the boat in the waters of the river were fifty gigantic hippopotamuses!

  Hippos are the third-largest land mammal on Earth. They are three times the size of a small car, and they are known as one of the most aggressive animals in the world. Many consider them to be the most dangerous animal in all of Africa. Even crocodiles are afraid of them! So Jeff knew they had to exercise caution. The crew slowed their boat and cut its engine so as to not disturb the hippos. It was tense for a few minutes, but Jeff and his crew eventually drifted past the hippos.

  Jeff certainly had a good time creating The Jeff Corwin Experience, but it was also a lot of long hours and hard work. To create one forty-eight-minute episode required about two weeks of traveling and shooting. It was also a serious job. The Jeff Corwin Experience explored and taught viewers about important issues, such as endangered species, sustainability, and global warming.

  These were issues that are very meaningful to Jeff, and he had an idea to bring his knowledge of conservation and wildlife closer to home. In 2000, while still working on Going Wild with Jeff Corwin, Jeff approached the South Shore Natural Science Center with his next big idea: he wanted to create an environmental exhibit that would represent the ecosystems of southeastern Massachusetts. He would also help them raise the funds to build it.

  The South Shore Natural Science Center has always been near and dear to Jeff’s heart, as he spent nearly every afternoon there from ages nine to sixteen. He knew it was a place that showed people the connection between humans and their local environment. Jeff wanted people to recognize that the south shore of Massachusetts is home to an extraordinary natural habitat. Jeff worries that people often overlook the wildlife in their own backyard, and he feels it should be celebrated.

  Jeff decided to call his creation EcoZone. EcoZone opened its doors in 2002 and is a hands-on, interactive learning exhibit area. Jeff did not want anything in EcoZone to be off limits or behind glass. The more people interact with the exhibits at EcoZone, the more they get out of it. The exhibit contains quaking bogs, estuaries, ponds, and swamps. Within the habitats, visitors can experience everything from a life-size model of a maple tree to a hollowed-out log large enough to crawl through to frogs and turtles in ponds. To date, being involved with EcoZone is still one of Jeff’s proudest career achievements. He loves seeing kids—and people of all ages-having fun learning about Massachusetts habitats, and knowing that he was a part of that.

  The following year turned out to be a big one for Jeff. In 2003, Jeff completed his graduate studies work. He finally held a master of science degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. And while that was a milestone in Jeff’s life, it didn’t outshine the fact that 2003 also was the year his first daughter, Maya Rose, was born. Jeff says that being a father has made his feelings about conservation even stronger. He feels that even if we don’t want to protect our environment out of a sense of responsibility, we should do it for the next generation.

  Jeff says, “What a kick in the pants to produce children that will inherit an unhealthy world. We spend all this time investing in medicine, health care, and clothing. But the most important thing we can do for them is give them a healthy planet. My love for nature comes from my love for animals, my fascination for the natural world, and my concern for the future of our natural heritage. But now I’m a conservationist because I have children. I am biologically contributing to the next generation. I have an obligation to ensure that they have the resources that I have had.”

  But, sadly, Jeff feels as though our generation has had moments of failure that cannot be corrected. Since Maya was born, there are species of animals that have become extinct. Maya will never have an opportunity to know them or see them firsthand.

  After becoming a father, Jeff learned how hard it can be to make time for both his work life and his family life. He loves being a father; it is the most important job he has. But at the same time, he knows he has to take advantage of opportunities that build his career and keep him in the eyes of the public. And that means he has to travel and be away from his family quite often.

  Jeff travels as much as ten months each year, and he finds it hard to be away from his family. While it’s not possible to take them on most of his trips, Jeff does sometimes bring his family on the road. Maya has been to Central America, Africa, and throughout the United States—all before the age of five. Jeff remembers, “Maya spent her first birthday with a picnic lunch and a giraffe at a wildlife center in South Africa.” That’s one well-traveled little girl! Jeff continues, “The payoff of all the hard work is that my family gets to experience things others do not, and develop an appreciation for this great planet that we live on.”

  To round out Jeff’s amazing year, 2003 was also when Jeff took his interest in teaching people about nature and conservation to another level. Jeff wrote his first book, Living on the Edge: Amazing Relationships in the Natural World. The title of the book refers to the idea that wildlife lives on the edge, just like Jeff does!

  Since the age of twelve, it’s been Jeff’s dream to write a book. In an interview about the book, Jeff said, “I always dreamed of two things: hosting an animal show on TV and writing a book. Now I can say I’ve done both.” Jeff is very proud of his first book. He poured his heart into it, and even took most of the photographs that appear in it.

  In all of Jeff ’s work, whether it be books, television, or public speaking, he tries to teach one important message: we are all responsible for sustainable using, or saving Earth’s natural resources. If we don’t do it, the next generation will have to pay the price! Jeff feels that our worth as people can be measured by how we treat our planet. That’s why Jeff stresses the importance of using Earth’s resources in a way that will allow future generations to use them, too. We should aim to pass on a planet that is as biodiverse, healthy, biologically rich, and ecologically stable as it is now. And we should try to make it even more so!

  To further this cause, Jeff joined the board of directors of Defenders of Wildlife in 2004. Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit organization that protects America’s native animals and plants by educating people and helping them act on behalf of nature. Defenders of Wildlife has a hands-on, real-world, and practical approach to protecting resources. They work with lawmakers and the government to help create laws that protect animals. Jeff is impressed by their original solutions to conservation challenges. He is honored to be a part of such a great organization.

  While Jeff certainly had a lot on his plate, he was still hungry for more! So, in June 2005, Jeff signed on to create another Animal Planet program, called Corwin’s Quest. The series was filmed over many months on five continents and
focuses on a theme for each episode, such as “sound” or “extremes,” rather than the location. Corwin’s Quest brings viewers face-to-face with blue whales, reticulated pythons, vervet monkeys, Mexican free-tailed bats, desert scorpions, killer snails, and everything in between. And, as usual, Jeff had a wild time with his animal costars.

  While filming one episode of Corwin’s Quest, Jeff found himself swimming with great white sharks off the coast of South Africa. Great whites are the largest meat-eating shark in the ocean. They can reach more than twenty feet in length. They have enormous, razor-sharp teeth—sometimes up to three thousand of them at a time! Great whites are predators at the top of the marine ecosystem, making them important to the health of oceans. They generally hunt marine mammals such as sea lions, seals, and dolphins.

  Jeff was cage diving to study the sharks. That means he was lowered into the ocean inside a protective steel cage. From inside the safety of the cage, Jeff could film and study the sharks.

  In order to be able to breathe while he was under water, Jeff was wearing a heavy dome-shaped metal helmet that had oxygen pumped into it through a tube. It was so heavy that it took two people to put it on. If something went wrong, it wasn’t possible for him to get it off by himself.

  Suddenly, the fresh oxygen wasn’t replacing the carbon dioxide Jeff was breathing out fast enough. Jeff began to sweat and feel uncomfortable. He started to panic, and signaled the other divers and crew for help. But nobody seemed to see him! So in order to save himself, Jeff squirmed out of the shark cage. He swam toward the surface of the water and was about to be pulled back onto the boat. And that was precisely the moment when a sixteen-foot great white shark swam up behind Jeff.