Tonight on 20/20 ` In a world of perfection,... I never miss a trick. I can see when one eye's a little bit smaller than the other. ...standing out can be difficult. We meet a model challenging the look. When you've got this already, can you imagine how hard it's going to be for your dressers to dress you? Wait till you see what it is that makes this model different. We talk a look at the darker side of the animal kingdom. They will tear a human being apart just because they can. And an amazing story of survival. They had to staple up the back of the bite that she had taken into the back of my skull. And we meet the biggest little family. Standing no more than four feet tall, they are the real-life seven dwarfs. What do you most want people to know about you? That we're no different than other people. It's just our height difference. www.tvnz.co.nz/access-services Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012 Kia ora. I'm Sonia Wilson. At first glance, Brittany Griffin has the world at her feet. She's tall, gorgeous, blonde and a high achiever. Every day, people look twice when they see her. but not always for the reason you might think. The 20-year-old is on a journey to get to the catwalks of fashion week. It's a week where images of beauty and perfection are paraded and glorified. But Brittany has a point of difference. And the question is, is the modelling and fashion industry ready for a change? Here's Hannah Ockelford. U2'S 'BEAUTIFUL DAY' Nice. MUSIC CONTINUES # It's a beautiful day # Sky falls, you feel like... Beauty is everywhere. But sometimes we miss the obvious. Country girl Brittany Griffin's life changed once upon a time in the city. We were just, um, having dinner. And there she was, with a group of girlfriends, and she stood out, you know, like a` excuse the pun, but like a sore thumb. It's the stuff of fairytales. So, thanks for coming in. Brittany never imagined being scouted by the head of a top modelling agency. Couldn't understand why you hadn't thought about it. I didn't ever think that it would happen to me. I never miss a trick. I can see when one eye's smaller than the other, or they've got really sharp eye teeth ` little tiny things that can make a difference in a career. At first glance she seemed flawless. Push the ceiling up. Only when Brittany and her mum came to the Red11 office did Amanda realise Brittany's point of difference. That's better. Good girl. All of a sudden I had to really think fast on my feet, because I'm dealing with a girl that I scouted. I mean, I went after her. she didn't come after us. She didn't stand and wave in front of us. I came after her. So therefore when I go after them, the responsibility is also on my shoulders. So I've got a business decision that I need to make, fast. I've also got a girl's feelings, and her mum, and I honestly did not even see that she only had, you know, one arm. # Calling, calling, calling me home. # Calling, calling, calling me home. # In the competitive world of modelling, where the slightest defect can ruin your chances, imagine missing a limb and still striving to stride the runway. This is going to be a really hard journey. Like, this is not going to be easy. JANGLY POP MUSIC Knowing Brittany helps to understand why at first glance Amanda didn't see the stump. I don't want to be defined as the girl who has one arm. Rather just, you know, just be... who I am. MUSIC CONTINUES I just love the fact, you know, that she does simple things that we take for granted with no complaint, and it's us that makes a fuss about it not her. I have pre-shoot training on Friday. I've always had half an arm, so I've never known any different. Her left arm got tangled in the amniotic band while she was still in the womb, losing circulation. As a child, they tried to fit a prosthetic limb, but Brittany preferred life without an arm. It's, kind of, driven me to make sure that I can keep up with everyone. Um, I never wanted to be that kind of person that had to sit on the side cos I couldn't do it. I didn't really want to be treated any different. In her quest to become a model, will Brittany's assets compensate for what she doesn't have? I'd rather give it a really good shot and fail, than never trying at all because I'm scared to take a risk. Regardless of her arm, is Brittany pretty enough? If I had a magic wand, um, there'd just be like a few ultra-tiny, tiny things that I would fix. Like... Like... I'm not going to tell you. (LAUGHS) Because it's, you know` They're the kind of things that are so hyper-critical, um, you know, that- that it would almost sound cruel to say exactly what it is. Let's have a look. Yay. So with Brittany on the books, it's time to get brutal. Now skin. Honey. What are you wearing so much makeup for? That's crazy. Like, I'm so against makeup. We all are, here. We have this really strict rule. You wear that much makeup again into our agency or for any jobs for us, and you'll take it off with a bread knife. There's nothing glamorous about the model-ready process. I knew that I probably wouldn't be the size of a, like, a runway model. Pop your legs together for me. Now, this is the scariest measurement ever, OK? And it's best that you just don't look. WEAK CHUCKLING OK, so that's 40. So it's not exactly model ready. Is she thin enough? She's not thin enough to be on the covers of Vogue, definitely. Um, there's, you know` NZ thin is so different to European thin and Australian thin and so forth, as well. She's certainly thin enough in the sense of a good healthy woman. # We are one tonight. # It's never really have I tried to, you know... get down to, like, a goal weight or anything like that. I want her to be as close to model perfect as she can, so that we eliminate any other excuses. FAST DANCE MUSIC There is a few exercises that I can't do, like push-ups and stuff, but I do find my way around it. Like I can do, um, push-ups on bags and against the wall. Just remember nice straight line from your neck down to your heel. OK? Simply being hot won't cut it. Lower. > There you go. > With Fashion Week just months away, Brittany's been told to tough it out with the best. If she's not prepared to work hard, we may as well all give up right now. We're just gonna lift out some layering here. So, you've got this lovely cheekbone hidden away under your hair. # All I ever wanted was the world. I had to dye my eyebrows blonde. It's a very different look. What's she like in front of the camera? She's really good at taking direction, actually. Pop on in there, love. At first she was, like, a little stiff, but then most` 99.9% of people are. But she took the direction really well and understood subtleties. Lovely, that's it. # Prima donna girl. That's it. Beautiful. The shots that we've chosen for her card, and some of them are in swimsuits. And so it's really obvious. And others, we've put it subtle, so it just looks like she's got her arm in her lap, and you can't tell. # Beauty queen on a silver screen. We normally hold it for three seconds. Cool. There's a girl called Brit ` Brittany. Amanda's working hard to get Brittany out there. I totally understand. But I still think she's worth having a look at. A model with a difference; it's proving to be a tough sell. (SIGHS) They're not gonna do it either. This isn't just a pipe dream. Models like Brittany have cracked markets offshore. The advice I'd give to young women with disabilities is just be confident. It hasn't been easy, um, launching a modelling career as a model with a disability. But, you know, I'm gonna make it. I know that there hasn't been anything like that in this country, so that would be quite exciting just to see what I can do with it. If you take a risk on something like that, you're doing right by society. You're saying, 'OK, we've got 20 girls in the show. 'We can afford to have a girl with` with half an arm in there.' It's, like, it's no big deal. She's cool; she walks well; she fits the clothes. Why not? QUIRKY MUSIC Right. I know you're dreading it... Six months into her model prep, and Amanda expects results. OK, honey, let's have a little look. So, how 'bout that weigh-in? So, how 'bout that weigh-in? I haven't lost weight. I've just, kind of, toned up. OK, can you just lift your top, honey, and I'll get your waist. Enough? Enough? Hopefully. (CHUCKLES) OK. 26. It's just a week out from auditions for the annual Fashion Week. Now, this is the tough news. OK, honey. You've gone up, like, two inches. OK? Oh, this is even scarier. I'll show you. I'll show you. God. Seriously, when you've got this already, can you imagine how hard it's going to be for your dressers to dress you. So you've got to fight for this. If you want it, like seriously, you've got to fight for it. So realistically, what are her chances? So realistically, what are her chances? Really slim. We're saying, 'You say you don't want to be treated any differently, well, there you go. 'There it is realistically. There are, you know, hundreds and hundreds of girls 'from` that will be casting for Fashion Week. 'And you've got to go up against them just like a normal person. So you'd like to be treated normal? 'Away you go. There it is.' FAST DANCE MUSIC A cattle call of six agencies and hundreds of models all hoping to get cast. MUSIC CONTINUES It takes a certain attitude to show your stump in front of the nation's kings and queens of fashion. I've never done anything like that, so it'd be` I'd be very nervous. RAPS: # Hey, I can be the answer. # I'm ready to dance when the vamp up. Brittany is unashamedly preparing to challenge the look. We'll call her name. She'll walk, and may the best girl win or boy. May the best person win. We have Brittany. # I was in the 212 on the uptown. # You know what's up or don't you? Word to who made ya. I'm a rude ... What are you made up of? # How'd it go? How'd it go? It was good. I hope` I hope it went well. It was fun. It was fun. How'd it feel? There's a lot of eyes on you. There was a lot of people. I was surprised. You just don't even know what you're walking into, but I felt like it was the longest walk of my life, but it was fun. That was really good. That was really good. Thank you. I'm actually really pleased. I can tell that you're practising, right? Yeah, you could tell. And you really really cruised. I noticed a couple of designers pulled your card out and put them to the side. What's the advantage to a designer? They would get seen as supporting, you know, people with disabilities. I think that would be the biggest advantage. JUSTICE CREW'S 'BOOM BOOM' # Boom boom. # It's gettin' hot in here. # Boom boom. # It's gettin' hot in here. # Boom boom. # It's gettin' hot in here. # Boom boom. # It's gettin' hot in here. So Brittany's made it to Fashion Week, but not on the catwalk. # The drinks on me. Yeah, we can do shots all night. # They all want to buy in and engage in it. They love her attitude. But at the end of the day, we haven't made a sale. We haven't actually been able to get the job done. There's no easy way to deal with the rejection. I can see what they are thinking. Like, this girl has got one arm. Um, and I understand that's not what they're looking for. To me the industry's definitely not ready for it, otherwise we would have been able to do something. I love selling. Selling's in my blood, and I'm good at it, and I-I can't sell her. Of course I'm frustrated. I play to win. It's life. I mean, you've just gotta suck it up and just move on, really. So, does Brittany have any future in modelling? I really do feel in my heart that something definitely will come up for her, um, that will have her name all over it. And I can't wait, because she'll have no competition. (CHUCKLES) She really won't. Sheesh, she's a tough old business, eh ` the modelling world. All right, next up on 20/20 ` when animals attack. Turning now to the American graduate student who was brutally attacked by two chimps. Oberle is the 26-year-old who was savagely mauled in June by two chimpanzees at an animal sanctuary in South Africa. They will tear a human being apart just because they can and they want to. Tonight on 20/20 ` a Welcome back. Our next story takes us across the USA to meet people working and living every day with wild animals. The key word there, of course, is wild. We also head to South Africa to hear new details on the attack and condition of American Andrew Oberle, who was viciously mauled inside a chimpanzee sanctuary. I've travelled the world covering wildlife ` from swimming with sharks in Australia... to being chased by wild elephants in Africa. But that, of course, pales in comparison to what it must have been like for Andrew Oberle. We turn now to the American graduate student who was brutally attacked by two chimps. Oberle is the 26-year-old who was savagely mauled in June by two chimpanzees at an animal sanctuary in South Africa. In order to understand this attack; to understand why our closest animal relative can be so dangerous,... CHIMPS SCREECH ...you need to know about the two animals who carried it out and about this place where they lived. It's called Chimp Eden, and it's run by this man, Eugene Cussons, who rescues chimps from places like circuses, nightclubs and roadside cages. His dramatic rescues inspired an Animal Planet reality show called Escape to Chimp Eden. When one of the chimps involved in the attacked, Amadeus, was a baby, his parents were murdered and sold for food on the black market. The other, Nikki, was raised as a human boy ` his fur shaved to resemble one. He even wore a gold wristwatch. Close the door. Close the door. This combination of trauma and physical strength that is seven times that of a human makes these animals unpredictable and dangerous. CHIMPANZEES SCREECH SHRILLY EUGENE: Every single time I go inside the enclosure, I do take my life into my own hands. In his first extensive interview since the attack on Andrew Oberle, Cussons, who was the first to arrive and helped save Oberle's life, took us to the scene of the incident. It was June 29th, and Oberle, a volunteer, was giving a guided tour. According to Cussons, Oberle made a key mistake, stepping in between the two fences that surround the chimp enclosure. The chimpanzee then took this as a breach of territory, and they obviously went into a defensive mode. The animals grabbed Oberle's leg and pulled him halfway under the fence, then pushed him back out, where they viciously beat and bit him, forcing Cussons to shoot one of his beloved chimps. I fired the, uh, the round into his abdomen, uh, because my` my priority was to make sure that, uh, I could get to Andrew. When paramedics got there, about 20 minutes after the attack started, Oberle was barely alive. To see a person with these physical injuries to this extent was` was overwhelming. According to early reports, Oberle had suffered devastating and permanent injuries, with several appendages ripped off of his body. In an exclusive statement to ABC News, Oberle's family says he is back home in the United States at St Louis University Hospital, where he's... Oberle's family rejects the idea that he was at fault. But until he is able to tell his story, nobody will know why he got so close to the chimps who nearly killed him. TENSE MUSIC Because chimps are so similar to us ` they share 98% of our DNA ` we have long tried to make them act like people. You want me in New York? They even appear in TV ads, working in offices. But while chimps mirror many of our best tendencies, showing affection, reconciling after fights, even mourning their dead, they also share our capacity for savagery. CHIMPS SCREECH Dave Salmoni, a veteran animal trainer and predator expert on Animal Planet, says he will work with any species, even wild chimpanzees, but never captive chimps. They have this capacity for gang violence-type aggression. And I saw an evil, dark side to an animal that I didn't want to believe existed in the animal kingdom. The worst part of humanity ` the things that I hate most about people ` is what I` I recognise pieces of that in the chimps. They will tear a human being apart just because they can and they want to. Andrea Maturen would know. Two years ago, while volunteering at a chimp sanctuary in Florida, somebody let two chimps into an enclosure she was cleaning. So when that door opened and you knew these two chimps were coming in, > did a wave of terror roll over you? Yeah. One of the things in the back of my mind was, 'I could die right now,' because it wouldn't take them very long to just tear me to pieces. Andrea survived, but she had to undergo repeated and painful surgeries. Multiple broken tendons in my right hand and a broken thumb. Fractured elbow, puncture wounds. I still have her scratches all over my back. That's how deep they were. They had to staple up the back of` the bite that she had taken into the back of my skull. Do you think that their similarity to us is what, in some cases, can make them so dangerous? Yeah. They are us without restrictions. And with seven times the strength? And with seven times the strength? Yes. And with the ability to lift 1500 pounds when they're mad. And they get mad a lot. (CHUCKLES) Hers is just one of many infamous incidents involving chimps. In Nevada last month, two domesticated chimps escaped, marauding through a neighbourhood. WOMAN: They're in the front yard. Can we please get somebody? I don't want anybody getting hurt. One of them was shot dead by police, and, incredibly, the other chimp then escaped again. It was captured again just last Saturday. This looks like we're complete idiots. Like, how the hell could the other chimpanzee get out? Connecticut, 2009 ` a disaster involving a pet chimp named Travis ` an animal who'd been raised as a human, appeared in TV ads,... Now that's a great discovery. ...and whose owner had taught him how to bathe himself and use the computer. Out of nowhere, the ripped the face off of his owner's friend, Charla Nash. (PHONE) WOMAN: He's killing my friend! (PHONE) WOMAN: He's killing my friend! MAN: Who is? My chimpanzee! She later received a full face transplant. One of the most stunning aspects of the Andrew Oberle case is that despite the extent of his injuries, his friends and family say they are sure he will one day return to working with chimps. PARENTS: Whee! Andrea Maturen says she, too, is open to it. Why? Why? I think you can learn a lot from great apes, from chimpanzees,... because they are like us, without reservations. They can really tell you a lot about the human race. You feel like you're staring at your ancestors in some ways. You feel like you're staring at your ancestors in some ways. Yeah. And you wonder what they're thinking about you. Creatures that tell us so much about ourselves ` both what we like to see... and sometimes what we don't. CHIMPS SCREECH OK, next up on 20/20 ` dangerous roadside zoos in America. And we see how easy it is to buy a tiger. LION ROARS He wanted to get up close to the grizzlies. She wanted to take a swim with polar bears. And I wanted to buy a tiger. TIGER ROARS Looking for a home. Whatever face you're washing off, go deeper. Remove excess oil and makeup without overdrying with a cleanser that does all three. Olay Deep Cleansing range ` your fresh-faced daily. Tonight on 20/20 ` a Welcome back. In America there are many roadside zoos where people can get an up close and personal experience with a wild animal. But they're not called wild animals for nothing. And it can all go terribly wrong very quickly. Also, want to own your own tiger? Just go and buy one. In the States, it's easier, apparently, than picking up a kitten from the SPCA. CHILDREN CHATTER The zoo ` it's a classic family summer pastime. There he is! But even though it's generally very safe, things can go badly awry. TIGER SNARLS Call it Zoo Confidential. LION SNARLS He wanted to get up close to the grizzlies; she wanted to take a swim with polar bears. MAN SHOUTS And I... wanted to buy a tiger. TIGER ROARS This is looking for a home? Wanna get up close and personal, this is how we do it. Sit on him and give him a big ol' hug. The biggest dangers, experts say, are lurking at so-called roadside zoos ` backyard businesses where, for a fee, you can pet, feed and cuddle with some of Earth's fiercest predators. They are born with razor-sharp claws. < Just let him take it. These facilities, over a thousand of them, dot rural America, and they are often just 'mom and pop' operations. Feel free to run your fingers between their toes. TIGER SNARLS Look at this undercover video shot by the Humane Society of a child at a roadside zoo in Oklahoma attacked and scratched by a tiger. GIRL SCREAMS A teenager is hospitalised from a possible tiger attack... But some visits can be fatal, like the case of Haley Hilderbrand, who died while posing next to a tiger for her senior class picture. The tiger lunged at her and attacked her and, uh, got her by the back of the neck. So how is it that there are hundreds of these places? Because, critics say, many state governments have such lax regulation that pretty much anybody can start up a backyard zoo. And, incredibly, six states require less paperwork and red tape to buy a tiger as a pet than many shelters require to adopt a kitten. Getting wired up. He's rolling right now. To find out what it takes, my colleagues and I wired ourselves up with hidden cameras... OK. We're going to buy a tiger. ...and visited the Animal Haven Zoo in Weyauwega, Wisconsin, posing as first-time cat buyers. Don't put your hands in the cages. We're going to go in there this side. How many tigers do you have? How many tigers do you have? 29. How many tigers do you have? 29. You have 29? In Wisconsin, it is perfectly legal to buy and sell a tiger as a pet without any paperwork, even when the buyer is somebody like me, with zero experience. Get two. I mean, if you're going to go out there and sit and enjoy them, have two. What the hell. Owner Jim Hofferber gives away his full-grown tigers for free. We don't sell. We give 'em to ya. He offered us this one named Princess. That's Princess. She's very nice, very friendly. She is what you see. However, she was extremely unfriendly when I went in for a closer look. PRINCESS SNARLS > If one of these cats got out, what could they do to you? First thing you do is you go to the house, get the 30-gauge and shoot the son of a <BLEEP>. Don't dart them, because you won't live long enough to see them go down. While in our initial conversation he told us he didn't need any paperwork at all for a pet tiger, when we arrived, he did ask us for a letter from the local government and a USDA licence, which requires a psych visit. But he quickly added, 'Neither of those things is difficult to get.' They come once a year and look at your pen and say, 'Oh, it's fine,' and that the water dish is clean. Doesn't need <BLEEP> all. You're good to go. TIGER SNARLS And then it was time to tell Jim and his wife, who helps him run the place, that we were not really in the market for a tiger at all. You had no right barging in here like you were doing` like we're doing something illegal. Jim went above and beyond what the law requires, but is that really enough to let somebody walk away with a potentially lethal animal? You had no way of knowing if I was gonna allow little kids to take pictures with the tiger or... You don't have any way of knowing whether I'll be responsible. You don't have any way of knowing whether I'll be responsible. Absolutely not. But nobody that gave me a tiger knew that I would be responsible. But you agree that tigers are too easy to get in this country? But you agree that tigers are too easy to get in this country? Oh, yeah, absolutely. < TIGER ROARS While the backyard zoos where you can get close to dangerous animals pose more risks to visitors,... Just come right on over and pet this big guy. ...there have also been dangerous and deadly incidents at large, established zoos as well. And many of the worst attacks are the results of people behaving badly. PEOPLE SHOUT Look at this tourist at a zoo in Alaska who jumped over a barrier to get a better picture with a polar bear named Binky. His teeth narrowly missed her femoral artery. MAN: Look at his stretching. In this horrific video, a man in Singapore crosses a moat right into a tiger enclosure. PEOPLE SHOUT You can't manage for everyone's crazy. If somebody wants to drop into an enclosure 16ft down, I don't know how you would manage for that. You know, you could encase the animals completely, but that's not really fair to the animals either. Another big problem? Taunting. < Boo! In one estimate, one in four visitors to zoos try to provoke the animals. TIGER SNARLS, PEOPLE LAUGH Critics say it is an outrageous trend amplified by YouTube. MAN: Roll towards the glass. > I don't understand why someone wants to bully an animal. This poor animal is in a cage. Trying to harass the animal ` I don't understand the payout. How would I get a tiger out... (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)? Taunting can turn deadly. At the zoo in San Francisco in 2007,... My bro's about to die out here! ...three young men were allegedly harassing this 350-pound tiger named Tatiana, who then leapt out of her enclosure and mauled them. One of the men later died. The bottom line here? Whether you're visiting a large, established zoo or a roadside zoo, getting up close with a wild animal is pretty much never a good idea. And you gotta remember ` these sons of <BLEEP> are gonna kill ya; that their goal in life is to kill you. TIGER SNARLS OK, next on 20/20 ` we meet the experts who put their lives at risk every day working with wild animals. You have to know all the time, they could kill you. And they like to. It is a harsh lesson, and one learned repeatedly by animal trainers. Thousands of people have watched the attacks on YouTube ` from boxing kangaroos, to rampaging elephants. Knowing the stakes is part of the job. Without leaving the house. Wow! New! EasyWax. Roll-on. From Veet! ANNOUNCER: 8 out of 10 women would definitely use it again. Salon results in your home. It's easy. The perfect temperature. I don't burn myself. An even layer. No mess! And salon-perfect results. Without leaving the house. Wow! Also available, a precision head refill. For underarms and bikini. New... EasyWax roll-on kit. From Veet! For beauty tips and more, check out veet.com.au/salonsecrets. Tonight on 20/20 ` a Welcome back. Being an animal trainer can put you in the lion's den, literally, so what makes these people put their own lives at risk on a daily basis? 20/20 talks to the people trying to tame the beast. DRAMATIC MUSIC < All right! Face to face with some of the most fearsome beasts on Earth,... Have a look at these teeth. See those teeth? LION SNARLS ...Animal Planet host and trainer Dave Salmoni shows no fear. YELLS: Hey! Hey! Get out of here! From getting dangerously close to a lion's cub... Where's your mommy? Is she gonna come bite me? ...to taking his own cut of a lion's kill,... I'm sure old Brutus won't miss it. ...he walks a fine line between courage and craziness. You ready? You ready? Yep. When he took me into a tiger enclosure, even though I was petrified,... You can pat him if you want. You can pat him if you want. All right. He knows you're nervous. ...he was cool, calm, utterly in control ` the consummate predator whisperer. I think the best strategy and technique I use to keep myself safe is reading the animal. You're always watching their posture. You're always watching what they're saying to you. They're always communicating. Are you ever not scared? I'm never scared. I'm never scared. Uh, I'm definitely scared. Like, not even partly scared. 100% scared. But Salmoni has tasted fear. Terror, in fact. 13 years ago, when he was just starting out, a 500-pound lion named Bongo turned on him. PEOPLE SCREAM As he came up on my throat, I gave him my forearm instead to block him from getting to my throat. He sunk his teeth into my forearm and then tried to drag me down to the ground to kill me. Kept my legs underneath me and let him tear my forearm out. Kept my legs underneath me and let him tear my forearm out. Were you terrified? Yeah, that was the only time and the first time I ever remember feeling true fear. Kept thinking, 'I'm dying now. I'm getting killed.' That attack would haunt Salmoni. Even though his arm healed, his training career was at a crossroads. After that happened, I knew I could never feel that fear again. You have to know all the time they could kill you. And they'd like to. It is a harsh lesson, and one learnt repeatedly by animal trainers. Thousands of people have watched the attacks on YouTube, from boxing kangaroos... to rampaging elephants. Knowing the stakes is part of the job. Trainer Randy Miller and his company, which is called Predators in Action, specialise in so-called 'staged attacks' ` mock attacks that look real but are in fact carefully choreographed. We're doing behaviours they normally do anyway, but on cue. AUDIENCE CHEERS He's the guy actually wrestling this tiger in the movie Gladiator and this bear in the movie Semi-Pro. (SCREAMS) You know, you have an animal that's, uh, 500 pounds, 600 pounds, uh, doing everything it can, you know, to pin you down and hold you down and` and chew on you. Usually you can read these guys, and if there's a problem, you can see it. But it's fast. Things can turn fast. This attack happened at lightning speed. That is Randy's cousin Stevie, his best friend. The bear, Rocky, suddenly lunged. (YELLS) And I made every effort to stop it, cos I knew` I knew it wasn't, you know, it wasn't good. The more we tried, the more the bear tried to hang on. He gripped him harder. It was only four or five seconds we got the bear off. Tragically, Stevie died of a single bite to the neck. Before that day, I was pretty fearless. It took me a little bit of time to regain trust in the animals. I mean, one thing that never changed is my love for the animals. That's` That's really what kept it together. That love for animals is what kept Dave Salmoni in the game too. Come on, buddy. Just one day after his brush with death with that lion named Bongo,... Good boy. ...he discharged himself from the hospital and went to see the lion. I remember I pulled myself` full of tubes, very dramatic, took a cab to the place where the lion was being kept. I started brushing his hair. Immediately, all the passion, all the love, all the` that sense of-of-of right and the sense of self all came back, and I was, like, 'Oh, I need to keep doing this.' You can play with him if you want. You can play with him if you want. Really? Today, Salmoni is confident enough in his skills to allow amateurs like me to conduct our entire interview with a wild animal at our side. So in the back of your mind, even with this very young, very docile, very relaxed animal, you're thinking, 'It's possible'? > you're thinking, 'It's possible'? > There is no` I have eye contact with you, but there is no part of my brain that isn't focused on him. And knowing that more than likely he'd go after you before he goes after me` Great (!) Great (!) ...I'm here to stop that. That's really comforting. I appreciate that. Thank you. That's really comforting. I appreciate that. Thank you. You're welcome. You wanna bite his shirt? > Dave even encouraged me to give the lion a head bump, which is apparently a standard lion greeting. So put your head down, and, forehead to forehead, give him a lump. The dumbest thing I've ever done on TV. Watch this. Oh, he's distracted. That's fine. If you put your head in there, he'll bump you. That's fine. If you put your head in there, he'll bump you. (LAUGHS) 'Turns out some lions are sceptical about the news media.' LION GROWLS SOFTLY LION GROWLS SOFTLY PLAYFULLY: I know! You shouldn't do that! I was trying to be nice! I was trying to get him to greet you. Playing devil's advocate ` you can imagine many people would hear your story and say, 'This guy's nuts for continuing to do this.' Yes, I have lived my life since I started working with big cats with the knowledge that there's a great chance that I could be killed by the thing I love so much. I've been through it. I'm willing to risk the fact that I may get killed by one of these animals, because I love it so much. because I love it so much. It's worth the risk? because I love it so much. It's worth the risk? To me. Good boy. OK, next on 20/20 ` a family like no other talk about the challenge of living in an oversized world. Meet the Johnston family. They are extreme in many ways. Standing no more than four feet tall, they are the real-life Seven Dwarfs. Tonight on 20/20 ` a Welcome back. The Johnston family are a family like no other. They just don't fit in the world around them. What you and I take for granted is just out of reach for them. Here's Barbara Walters. Meet the Johnston family. They are extreme in many ways. I'm Amber. I'm Amber. And I'm Trent. I'm Amber. And I'm Trent. BOTH: And this is our family. I'm Jonah. I'm 12 years old, and I'm 46 inches tall. This is our new puppy. I'm Elizabeth. I'm 10 years old, and I am 47 inches tall. I'm Ana, and I'm 11 years old, and I'm 44 inches tall. I'm Emma. I'm 6 years old. I'm 33 inches tall. I cannot do it. I'm Alex. I'm 6 years old, and I'm 37 inches tall. I'm Alex. I'm 6 years old, and I'm 37 inches tall. WOMAN: Perfect. > Standing no more than 4ft tall, they are the real-life Seven Dwarfs. Do you like people to use the word dwarf? Or would you rather we called you little people, or little person? Dwarf is the textbook term. Little people is... the most polite, correct name. Why is midget a bad word? It's derogatory. It's slang. I visited the Johnstons at their home in Barnesville, Georgia. They are the largest family of achondroplasia dwarfs. In our type of dwarfism, it affects the, um, extremities as well as our head. Our insides are the same; our arms and legs are shorter. But when it comes to parenting, Amber and Trent go to extremes to keep things extremely normal. Your tables, your chairs, your furniture ` your everything ` is the same as the average size. Most parents try to make things easier for their kids. You don't. No. We strive to raise our children in the world that's not built for them. We teach the kids to adapt to their environment. Trent, your parents were dwarfs and your siblings` My entire family. Amber's experience was the complete opposite. Amber, you were born to average-sized parents. You were the only dwarf in your family. Yes. Yes. What was that like? I always knew that I was different and I was little, but I chose to be positive. Amber first met people like her as a teen, when she started attending little people's conventions. It was there that she met Trent. Was it love at first sight for you? I had to earn it. I had to earn it. You had to earn it? > I had to earn it. You had to earn it? > I had to earn it. RICHARD WAGNER'S 'BRIDAL CHORUS' PLAYS They married. I announce to you that they are husband and wife. Five months later, Amber was pregnant with their first child, Jonah. But there was the question of whether their son would be like them or of average size ` both a possibility. When you found out that your son was going to be a dwarf, what did you think? Very excited. Very excited. That was the best news. Really? You didn't want an average-sized child? Even though you knew it would make an easier life? We were not against if it was average-sized. But, um, when we first met, I mean, some of the first words out of his mouth was he wanted a little boy just like him. And that is exactly what they got. Then, two years later, a daughter, Elizabeth. But it was a gruelling, dangerous pregnancy. At one point, this 48-inch-tall woman grew to 51 inches wide. But they weren't willing to give up their dream of a big little family. After we had our two biological children, we were very open to adoption. We knew that when we would adopt, it would be a little person. Soon the Johnstons became a sort of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt of the dwarf world, adopting Ana from Siberia, Alex from South Korea and most recently, Emma from China. You know, when I said that I was coming to talk to you and that you had five kids, people said to me, 'How do they support these children?' We live within our means. Um, we try to do everything ourselves. Dwarfism is considered a disability. Do you get disability payment? Dwarfism is considered a disability. Do you get disability payment? No. We don't ask for it. I do believe there are little people that are truly disabled, but our family is not. You do not consider yourself disabled, and you will not let your kids consider themselves disabled. No. We are to raise our kids without the 'woe is me' attitude. We do things that everybody else does. And they lead by example. Amber is a stay-at-home mom. She also heads up the PTA and Girl Scouts and makes dinners most nights. Trent is also hands-on ` literally. He crafts pedal extensions. My husband makes these pedal extensions for us and also for local people with dwarfism. And he supports the family financially as the grounds supervisor at a local college. For the Johnstons, it's all about two things ` faith and family. When you all go out and when people don't know you, are you ever bullied or stared at? BOTH: Yes. BOTH: Yes. How does that make you feel? Um, probably frustrated. More frustrated than sad. Because? Because? I don't think they would want us to stare at them. Are you bullied in school, Elizabeth? Do they tease you? Yes. Last year, in third grade, people started making fun of me. They started calling me midget. Do you ever answer the kids back? Do you ever answer the kids back? I just say, 'That's how God made me. That's how he loves me.' When I look at all of you ` and you seem like a very happy family ` what do you most want people to know about you? That we're a part of this world. We're no different than other people. It's just our height difference. And when it comes to size, this family's love outmeasures everything. Okey-dokey. If you want to see any of tonight's stories again, head to our website... You can also email us... Or go to our Facebook page... and let us know your thoughts on tonight's show. Thanks for all your feedback over the past week. We're interested in your stories, so keep those ideas coming in. Well, that's us for tonight. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next week.