Brady Barr

National Geographic reptile expert Dr. Brady Barr, 49, was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Bloomington, Indiana. He received a Bachelor of Science in science education from Indiana University in 1987 and, shortly thereafter, began his teaching career at Indianapolis' North Central High School. Barr taught subjects such as zoology, biology, and earth and life sciences, championing an interactive classroom style by encouraging his students to "touch, see, and feel the animals firsthand." What a cool teacher!

Moving to Florida to pursue graduate degrees at the University of Miami, Barr began extensive diet studies on alligators in Everglades National Park. The results of his ambitious research project provided important data for scientists seeking to preserve this unique ecosystem. Barr received a Master of Science (1994) and a Ph.D. (1997) in Biology from the University of Miami. He currently resides in Maryland with his wife and two children.

Barr has been with National Geographic since 1997, when he became National Geographic's resident herpetologist, and has since appeared in more than 100 National Geographic films. He has journeyed to five continents and over 70 countries and interacted with a menagerie of creatures from the Humboldt Squid to the Japanese Giant Salamander.