Michigan pet shop owner Don Hunt,
who turned a business promotion into a nationally syndicated TV show, left a
lasting conservation legacy.
If you were a kid growing up in
the early 1960s, a lot of what you knew about exotic animals may have come from
a Ferndale pet shop owner who landed enough Detroit television guest spots with
his animal friends that he parlayed the business promotion into the nationally
syndicated children’s program “B’Wana Don in Jungle-La.”
“B’Wana Don” Hunt — as he was
known among legions of fans who watched him and his scene-stealing pet
chimpanzee Bongo Bailey — died recently in Africa, his family said.
Hunt, a native of Ferndale, was
84.
Hunt’s brother, Pat, told the
Detroit Free Press that Hunt "always said that Bongo was the star, and he
was the co-star.”
Hunt’s friendly demeanor and
genuine love for animals made the show a hit with viewers, who learned about
wildlife conservation and ethics along the way.
“Don Hunt’s love of animals was
very apparent on the small screen. From his African trading post set in
'Jungle-La' he taught a generation of young Detroiters about exotic animals,”
Ed Golick, creator of www.detroitkidshow.com, told the Free Press “I still
remember a few phrases in Swahili thanks to B’wana Don. And what kid didn’t
love his unpredictable chimpanzee pal Bongo Bailey?”
Hunt once said he couldn’t have
predicted the the wealth the show’s meteoric rise in popularity would bring to
him.
“When I went from $75 a week from
my pet shop, and then, when I went to $5,000 a week because they were doing syndication,
I just couldn’t believe there was that much money anyplace in the world — and
why they would pay it to a pet shop kid like me…” he said in an interview for a
Detroit Public Television documentary.
Conservation with Actor William
Holden
Hunt was more than an entertainer
with a winning personality and charming chimp, though.
In 1967, the show sent Hunt to
Kenya to film what would become its final 130 episodes. Hunt fell in love with
both the country and a German-born art and Africa enthusiast, Iris, who would
become his longtime wife. He never lived in Michigan full-time again, though he
regularly returned to the house he built on Lake Burt.
After leaving the show, Hunt
earned the respect of international wildlife conservation organizations after teaming
with his friend, actor William Holden, on a wildlife rehabilitation and
reintroduction project.
At the 1,000-acre Mount Kenya
Game Ranch and 1,200-acre Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy near Nairobi, the
successful methods Hunt developed to rehabilitate and return animals to the
wild are used in conservation efforts benefitting a variety of species,
including the quickly disappearing Mountain Bongo Antelope.
The preserve and conservancy are
recognized and significant links in the global network of conservation
organizations. More than 1,500 animals have been returned to the wild as a
result of Hunt's work, according to his biography on the Ferndale Historical
Society page.
Business Knack
The entrepreneurial St. James
High School graduate bought his first pet store in Ferndale with a partner
while studying at the University of Detroit and eventually opened two more. The
pet stores were Hunt's ticket to the entertainment industry, but it was through
his wildlife-themed businesses that he made his fortune.
In 1967, he started the
International Animal Exchange to help zoos, aquariums and adventure parks
obtain animals for their exhibits. At the time, the IAE was supplying 75
percent of animals added to zoo collections, and it is still in business in
Royal Oak.
Hunt made a lot of money
supplying animals. The Wall Street Journal has reported the animal-acquisition
business raked in $6 million in 1970, or $36 million in today’s dollars.
In 1968, he founded an
international travel agency that offered guided “zoofaris” in East Africa. He
made $325,000 the first year, according to the Ferndale Historical Society bio.
Other business efforts included
safari theme parks he and his brother created across the United States,
including a walking pet zoo, Bob-Lo Island, and the still-in-operationAfrican
Safari and Wildlife Park.
Hunt, who had lived in Africa for
almost half a century, is survived by four brothers, Tom, Brian, Michael and
Pat; a sister, Diane; two children, Kevin and Kimberly; and two grandchildren,
Ryan and Alex.
Pat Hunt told the Free Press the
best way to remember his brother is to “be nice to animals.”
“That’s what he would have
wanted," he said.
And as word of Hunt’s death
spreads, a generation of kids who grew up watching “B’Wana Don in Jungle-La”
may be recalling with moist eyes his closing reminder on every show:
“Be good, boys and girls. I’ll
see you tomorrow morning. Don’t forget your prayers. Bye now.”
Image and video credit: YouTube