- Born
- Michael Hackenberger was born in 1957 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor, known for Dracula 2000 (2000), George of the Jungle (1997) and The Ghost and the Darkness (1996).
- His only American cinematic or television production involving any trained exotic animals from the Bowmanville Zoo was Paramount's The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) and Disney's George of the Jungle (1997). His trained male African lions, Bongo and Caesar, appeared in both films. However, they were onscreen separately for particular scenes.
- His trained female Asian elephant, Limba, appeared in Billy Madison (1995). After that cinematic production, she remained at the Bowmanville Zoo until her demise in December 2013.
- Hackenberger permanently closed Clarington, Ontario's Bowmanville Zoo in 2016 due to the news media charging him for animal cruelty a year earlier.
- His trained male Bengal tiger, Jonas, appeared in Life of Pi (2012). His demise occurred after filming that cinematic production.
- Hackenberger moved to Alberta in 1977 to work at the Alberta Game Farm. This career lasted until that animal sanctuary permanently closed in 1988. He became Bowmanville Zoo's new owner afterwards.
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