From dead bears to brain worms: RFK Jr.'s bizarre animal encounters resurface as new snake video goes viral
A clip of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. casually picking up two writhing black snakes with his bare hands has gone viral, drawing fresh attention to a career marked by unconventional — and sometimes unsettling — encounters with wildlife.
Kennedy, a political figure long surrounded by controversy over his fringe views and conspiracy-adjacent rhetoric, has never shied away from sharing tales that blur the line between eccentricity and alarm. He has publicly questioned vaccine safety, falsely linked childhood immunizations to autism, and argued that fluoride in public drinking water poses health risks — positions that have placed him at odds with mainstream medical consensus.
But it is his animal-related exploits that have consistently captured public imagination, for better or worse. In 2024, Kennedy acknowledged in a video that a decade earlier he had placed a dead bear cub in New York City's Central Park alongside a bicycle to stage what appeared to be a biking accident. He explained that he had found the cub upstate after it was hit by a car, planned to skin it, then abandoned the idea. The bizarre incident had mystified authorities for years.
According to an account from his daughter, Kennedy once used a chainsaw to decapitate a dead whale that had washed ashore in Massachusetts, then strapped the head to the roof of the family minivan to take it home for skull study. In a 2026 biography, he described cutting off the penis of a road-killed raccoon for later examination. And in a separate episode reported by The New York Times, a doctor discovered a dead parasitic worm in Kennedy's brain after he complained of memory loss; Kennedy said he has since recovered without lasting effects.
None of these stories appear to embarrass the son of Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 while running for president. As Washington Post columnist Monica Hesse wrote: “He has a relationship with animals that most of us only dream of. Nightmares are also dreams.”
The latest incident, posted Tuesday on X, shows Kennedy in a tie and dress shirt holding two thin black snakes by the tails from the corner of an outdoor patio. As the snakes writhe, he smiles for the camera. At one point, he appears to be bitten; off-camera, a woman's voice pleads, “Bobby, Bobby, please.” Kennedy's caption reads: “Cheryl cheerleads the removal of a pair of Black Racers from Dr Oz's patio,” referring to his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, and Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under Kennedy's department.
Black racers are non-venomous and generally harmless to humans if left alone, according to the National Park Service. But Cameron Young of the Center for Snake Conservation warned viewers not to imitate Kennedy's actions. “What I don't want is people copying him,” Young told AFP. “If a kid picks up a venomous snake because RFK did, then the kid may receive a medically significant bite.”
The episode underscores the enduring fascination — and concern — surrounding a health secretary whose personal antics continue to blur the line between political figure and viral curiosity.