BATON ROUGE, La. — Most kids are playing tag or video games. But nine-year-old Harper Landry has got snakes in her pockets and dreams of becoming a veterinarian—with a specialty in reptiles.
Harper, who turns 10 in July, has become an unexpected social media sensation for her fearless fascination with snakes, wrangling everything from harmless garter snakes to the occasional catfish she’s pulled from a ditch. With just a handful of videos, her online presence has struck a chord—her clips have amassed more than 56 million views and caught the attention of snake enthusiasts across the country.
“She’s outside 90% of the time,” her mom, Shayna Landry, said with a laugh. “But if she’s not outside, the other time is spent learning about snakes.”
What began as a mother’s concern has evolved into something much more—an educational journey that Shayna now fully embraces.
“In the beginning, as a woman, I was just inherently afraid of these types of things,” she said. “But she would crawl under our raised house at 18 months old, spending hours with the creepy crawlies. I did everything I could to stop her—but the snake obsession started there.”
Watch Harper’s controversial discovery
And it hasn’t stopped. Last summer alone, Harper found five different snake species in one week—in her own yard. Harper’s Dad, a marine biologist, spends a lot of time teaching Harper about snakes and other animals.
When asked about her favorite species to catch, Harper didn’t hesitate: “Garter snakes.”
Harper’s love for reptiles has grown into a mini media brand of sorts. Her mom affectionately calls her video series “Feral and Fearless” and “Herping with Harper.” The titles say it all—Harper isn’t just chasing snakes; she’s flipping the script on fear.
“We know about the risk of car accidents, but we still put her in a car,” Shayna said. “It’s the same thing. She’s going to do this, so we just make sure she is as safe and educated as possible.”
Safety is the theme—even in the face of negativity online. With millions of eyes comes criticism, but Shayna doesn’t let it rattle her.
“They get a 20-second glimpse into our life,” she said. “But we know what kind of mom I am. A lot of people want to kill snakes just because it’s a snake. Maybe this will cause one of those 56 million viewers to stop and think—if a 9-year-old can handle it, maybe I can relocate it instead of killing it.”
One of those enthusiastic viewers is Kevin Hood, better known as The Louisiana Snake ID Man. Hood, founder of the popular Louisiana Snake ID Facebook group with nearly 54,000 followers, has built a career educating the public about reptiles—busting myths, calming fears, and encouraging respect for these misunderstood creatures.
And he’s a big fan of Harper.
“I love seeing her videos. I just crack up laughing at them,” Hood said. “She reminds me so much of my boys when they were little—snakes in their pockets, snakes coming into the house… all the time.”
Watch Kevin Hood identify snakes
Hood met Harper during one of his herping field trips—outdoor educational events where enthusiasts search for snakes and amphibians in the wild.
“Our last trip had 120 people—it was way bigger than I expected, so I didn’t get much one-on-one time with Harper,” he said. “But I want to plan one just for her and our family.”
Hood held on to that plan. Just days after our interview, he and Harper’s family went on a snake hunt together.
Kevin and his crew are also Harper’s unofficial online bodyguards.
“Her mom’s always tagging us, and we’re always helping defend her on Facebook,” he laughed. “People freak out—‘Is that a copperhead?!’ No, it’s not. You’d be surprised how many people are so confidently wrong on snake IDs.”
He sees Harper’s work as not just impressive—but vital.
“Cows kill exponentially more people per year than snakes. Dogs kill 50 to 60 people. Snakes? Just four to five in the U.S. annually. But the mindset is so skewed. What Harper’s doing is helping shift that.”
As Harper continues to charm the internet and impress the pros, she’s already getting invitations from big-name YouTubers to join adventures from Texas to Florida—including python hunting and catfish noodling.
But at the end of the day, Harper’s just a Louisiana kid doing what she loves—one slithering, scaly discovery at a time.
And soon, Kevin Hood hopes to be right there beside her again—herping with Harper.
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