Van Zant with his family in Alaska. Courtesy | Jeffrey Van Zant
In this Quick Hits, Professor of Biology Jeffrey Van Zant talks grizzly bears, superpowers, and family. Van Zant received his Bachelor of Science in wildlife biology at the University of Montana and his Ph.D. in zoology/animal biology at Auburn University before joining Hillsdale’s biology department in 2008.
Where does your interest in biology come from?
I have had an interest in biology for as long as I can remember. I loved following bugs across the yard, catching turtles and frogs and snakes and all of that stuff. Being outdoors has always been important to me. I had a third grade teacher named Mrs. Wilson, and she helped me with that a lot. She was into monarch butterflies and various other things, and she helped me along with my interest in nature, but I’m fortunate. I’ve always known what I love to do, and if I can make a living doing that, that’s the best life.
If you could be an animal, what would it be and why?
Grizzly bear. I just think they’re sort of majestic and noble looking, and they’re probably my favorite animal.
What is the coolest thing the human body can do?
I can think of one thing for mammals in general. We all have similarities in our physiology, but we have mammals that fly, the bats, and we have aquatic mammals, the whales and dolphins. We have seals and other mostly aquatic mammals that are readily adapted to that lifestyle, so they take the basic physiology of a mammal, and they adapt it to that lifestyle. Some of the seals can dive over 5,000 feet and stay underwater for over an hour. But I think the coolest thing about humans is our brain, and our ability to think and reason, and use logic, and to understand the rest of the world around us. That is my favorite thing.
Where is your ideal adventure, and who would you bring with you?
My family and I went to Alaska a few years ago, and it was a great adventure. We walked with grizzly bears, and we watched whales do what’s called bubble net feeding. We saw an abundance of wildlife while we were there. I don’t think there’s anybody else I’d rather be with than my wife and my four kids, so it was a great adventure and perfect for me.
If you could choose to have any superpower, what would it be and why?
I think I would like to live forever. I love learning. I love college. That’s why I’m still here. I love adventures, and I’d love to travel around the world. I’d like to live for a long time and continue to travel.
Would you rather fight one bear-sized mouse or 100 mice-sized bears?
I’d probably take my chances with 100 mice-sized bears. Bears are pretty large, and I would not want to tangle with one if I did not have to. I’d probably take my chances with the smaller, even if there are more of them. If you get a bunch of ants on you, you can defeat them, but they can leave you in a lot of pain.
What is your opinion of bats?
I love bats. They’re one of my favorite animals, as well, just because of the variety of ecological niches they fill. When I was at Auburn University, all the bats that were found dead in the state were sent there for testing, and one of the things they tested them for was rabies.
What is something that most people might not suspect about you?
I run a lot. Last June, I ran in the Charlevoix Marathon, and I qualified for the Boston Marathon.
What is the most interesting thing about beach mice?
They are the only mammal that lives full time in that beach habitat. Other mammals will be out there, but they don’t spend their lives out there.They made a model for a lot of questions that I had.
