The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon:
Dispelling Misconceptions towards Wildlife
As Robert hopes to continue his father’s legacy, he also dedicates his life to spreading a positive message about wildlife conservation. Besides being actively involved in conservation initiatives, he also shares his passion and knowledge about animals through other means, such as appearing as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon with different exotic animals. He believes that this is a “great way to get the conservation message out to people who do not think of conservation as much” and “if they get to see the amazing animals… It will get to their heart and make them want to protect them more”.
Robert made his first appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, showcasing an African dwarf crocodile, a screaming armadillo, a red-tailed boa, and a sloth. Subsequently, he returned to appear on The Tonight Show multiple times with other types of wildlife. Till date, Robert has appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show for 12 times.
Screenshot from The Jimmy Fallon Show
During one of Robert’s guest appearance, an interviewer noted that Jimmy Fallon and Kevin Hart were fearful of the animals he brought to the studio. This is a common phenomenon which is termed as biophobia, the fear of natural things. Costello (1982) and McNally (1987) noted that humans generally have a genetic predisposition to fear threatening animals such as snakes and spiders (as cited in Kellert & Wilson, 1993).
Screenshot from The Jimmy Fallon Show
However, unlike Jimmy and Kevin, Robert was at complete ease with these animals. His behaviour aligned with the biophilia hypothesis, which Wilson (1984) referred to it as the love and positive responsiveness towards nature. Robert explained the differences in behavior by suggesting that many people “do not have the connection with nature”, and the fear stems from a lack of understanding of how animals work. Therefore, by occasionally appearing on The Tonight Show, he hopes to get the conservation message out to the people, especially urban dwellers, about wildlife, and to bring humans and nature closer together.
Check out this segment from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon here and the interview with Robert here (skip to the 1:27 minute mark in the video)!