I met Chris Hart backstage at the Chris Tomlin concert at Wild Adventures a few weekends ago. I was standing beside him when he pulled out a baby alligator from a backpack and I immediately freaked out.

While I don’t have a fear of alligators or crocodiles, I do have a strong fear of snakes and talked to Hart about this.

That conversation led me to realize what an interesting person he seemed to be.

At Wild Adventures, Hart is the host of the “Creature Feature” show which is held in the Alapaha Preserve area of the theme park. It’s not just a show where you see creepy, slimy reptiles, but a show where you can see a cute Kinkajou named Copper and learn more about wildlife conservation.

Hart has more than 15 years of experience in wildlife conservation and has been on numerous television shows on Fox, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Nickelodeon and different ABC and NBC affiliates.

Hart’s story began in Savannah where he was born and raised. He lived there until he was 16 years old. His family worked with traveling shows and Hart wanted to get out of that aspect of working with animals in shows.

He took a job with the Okefenokee Swamp in Waycross, working with different animals such as alligators in their natural habitat.

While in Waycross, Hart caught a lucky break when the Discovery Channel became interested in him.

“Within my first two years there, the Discovery Channel came in to use the park to film,” Hart said. “They just wanted to use b-roll of the wild alligators swimming. They watched my show so they wanted to do a documentary with me.”

From there, they wanted to film more with him, working with other animals such as bears and cougars.

After working in Waycross, Hart began working at Wild Adventures, where he worked for five years. He then moved to Orlando to work and has been back in Valdosta with Wild Adventures for two years.

During Hart’s show at Wild Adventures, he gives the audience a lot of information on all of the animals shown, especially snakes and alligators.

He tries to help people who are scared of snakes overcome their fears by letting them know that snakes aren’t looking for them. He lets people know that snakes can’t see more than 24 inches in front of them. A snake also can’t hear but picks up vibrations by putting its chin to the ground, which is how they know something is coming towards them.

Only nine people died last year from venomous snake bites while more than a thousand people died from food poisoning in American restaurants, Hart claimed.

While he works with different animals and has been bitten by five venomous snakes, the worst injury occurred two years ago while he was in Florida filming a wildlife documentary for PAX-TV. He lost his thumb after being chased 42 yards by an alligator.