It comes as no surprise that Dr Brady Barr _ National Geographic's resident reptile expert _ finds the thousands of crocodilians he has caught so far to be his "comfort zone". To date, he is famed for having landed more than 5,000 crocodiles and alligators.
Barr, who hosts Dangerous Encounters, says what has gotten him this far in his career has been his passion for educating others and a love for animals _ especially reptiles.
"I have always been into reptiles since I was a kid," he began. "I was crazy about dinosaurs like a lot of kids are. Then the older I got, I got more interested in present day reptiles. Ones that I can see, catch and touch."
Barr has come a long way from being a high school teacher with only a small class to manage. He went on to get a master's degree and a doctorate in biology. Today he has been able to reach and educate millions across the world about dangerous and rare animals in an engaging and hands-on style through his reality show.
Barr is the first person in the world to have captured all 23 crocodilian species, a feat he didn't set out to accomplish, but which has made him become like an ambassador for endangered animals. He also attempts to create an understanding of their importance and raise awareness at a global scale of the danger of their extinction.
What is it about reptiles that fascinates you?
These animals are the ultimate survivors. Crocodiles, for example, have been on the planet for 225 million years. They have been around since before dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs came and went and crocodiles are still going strong. I have always been crazy about animals and really good at getting close to finding animals and getting my hands on them. I marvel at them. I was always good at finding them and capturing them. I used to bring them home and my house was like the neighbourhood zoo when I was a small child.
What made you decide to become a TV host?
I knew I wanted to be a teacher; my undergraduate degree was in science education. I wanted to teach other people about the amazing planet we live on, the plants, the animals, the ecosystem. I have this thirst for knowledge, but it's not just for myself, it's to share that knowledge with others.
As a teacher in the classroom, that was fantastic, but I wanted a bigger audience. I wanted to learn and reach more people and it's been a progression. Now my classroom is millions of people through television as opposed to 30 kids in the classroom.
What's the challenge in dealing with dangerous animals and presenting a show at the same time?
I think that for people who want to be on TV, if you're a teacher, if you're in front of kids all day, being in front of the camera is very easy. It's a lot easier than having to keep track of 30 students. If you're a scientist and you're on a field project working on a dangerous animal, you don't ever take your eyes off that animal. But when you're on TV, at some point you've got to look away and look to the camera. And you know what happens when you take your eyes off the animal? Bad things happen. You look away from those animals just for a second and things happen and that's the most difficult thing I face. Another challenge is attempting to translate difficult scientific concepts into a basic level that everybody can understand.
What is the scariest incident that has happened to you so far?
There have been a lot. They're all bad. The most dangerous thing that I do is not the animals or the injuries I receive, but it's the remoteness of where we work. We work in some of the most remote and isolated places on the planet, so sometimes things that are very treatable and almost routine injuries become life-threatening. For crocodiles in particular, it's not them that are the most dangerous. The most dangerous thing is the rope at the bottom of the boat. Capturing crocodiles is a night-time activity. I use a big long pole with a noose at the end of it, and I have to get that over the crocodile's head and tighten it up. On a few occasions my foot was tangled in the rope and in the blink of an eye I was pulled over the side of the boat and under the water. It's dark and I was pulled down deeper and there were angry crocodiles swimming around and you're trying to free yourself from the rope.
What's the most difficult part of raising awareness and understanding about animals that are in danger of extinction?
Reptiles don't have as many fans or supporters on the planet. We as humans tend to love warm and cute animals. Snakes and other reptiles are tied up in a lot of religions and misbeliefs and legends. We view them as monsters. A famous scientist once said we as humans love our monsters and it's so true. We love them, we love to watch them in movies but we love to watch them from the safety of our couch.
Oftentimes when I give a presentation, if I was talking about the warm and the cute animals, everybody would be giving me money for conservation, but if I was talking about the cold and scaly, snakes or crocodiles, half the people would be heading towards the exit. But they are just as important, whether we're protecting pandas or crocodiles.
Dangerous Encounters is available through National Geographic Channel on True Visions and Nat Geo Wild channel from GMM Z, CTH and MeTv.
