Betty White spent her Wednesday morning feeding a panda and her afternoon swimming with a beluga whale.
Talk about a perfect day for an avowed animal lover.
White was back in Atlanta to visit her animal friends at Georgia Aquarium and Zoo Atlanta as research for an upcoming book about aquariums and zoos.
“It’s supposed to publish for Christmas and my deadline is the end of August,” White said, then added with a conspiratorial whisper and her trademark giggle, “But I’m not sure I’m going to make it.”
For the record, everything you’ve envisioned White to be is accurate. She’s sweet, soft-spoken, extraordinarily gracious and, at 89, admirably perky. Her pale blue eyes smile when she talks about her beloved golden retriever, Pontiac, a former guide dog who used to suffer from a wonky leg, and her voice swells with genuine wonder when she explains why she is fascinated by animals.
During her Wednesday visit, she popped by Zoo Atlanta for a private two-hour tour that began at 8 a.m. She fed biscuits to daddy panda Yang Yang and watched the gorillas and elephants show off.
“[The gorillas] are so amazing. Each one is so different and you have 23 of them here! That’s so wonderful,” she said.
White last visited the zoo about seven years ago, but also remembered the revered Willie B., the silverback gorilla who died in 2000.
After her zoo excursion, White, who has worked with the Los Angeles Zoo for 49 years and said she is, “kind of connected to zoos all over the world,” was whisked to Georgia Aquarium, where she would be reunited with her old pals Beethoven and tank-mate Qinu, the beluga whales, and Gracie the sea otter.
White first encountered Beethoven last fall while visiting the aquarium during a break in filming a Hallmark TV movie in town. She documented the experience of getting in the water with the graceful mammal in her most recent book, “If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't)” and said she couldn’t wait to do it again.
“It was my idea to come this time. I flew myself back and the aquarium was kind enough to let me have another visit with him. My schedule is so busy, you just never know when you might have a chance to interact like that again,” the TV icon said, sitting on a couch inside Georgia Aquarium while the belugas in Cold Water Quest dipped and dived behind her.
And as for this encounter?
“I got lipstick on [Beethoven], but he didn’t mind at all,” she said with a big smile.
White also united with another longtime aquatic friend – Gracie the sea otter, whom she first met 14 years ago when Gracie was being cared for at a wildlife refuge in California.
“Somehow we had a rapport out there. She wound up putting her paws up on my hip. So when I heard she was here...,” White’s voice trails off and she smiles again. “We had a good visit.”
The aquarium is also naming its dolphin mascot "Betty," in White's honor.
White’s latest literary pursuit, which she expects to fill with photos and anecdotes about the animals, is driven by her curiosity and desire to learn more about creatures both in and out of the water.
“Places like [the aquarium] are sending such a wonderful message,” she said. “I always get a little discouraged when people say about zoos and aquariums, ‘They shouldn’t take animals out of their natural environment.’ But what have we done to their natural environment? It doesn’t exist anymore. The people have taken over. But a facility like this, they’re sending a message – appreciate the wildlife.”
There is no doubting White’s connection to every breed of animal. After she stood up to leave Wednesday afternoon to head to the airport, she pressed her hand against the viewing window and watched the belugas make a final spin.
She sighed and smiled.
“What a day.”
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