‘Snakemaster’ premieres tonight on Animal Planet

Animal Planet has a new snake in the grass — and his name is Austin Stevens.

The keepers at the cable network are billing Stevens — aka the “Snakemaster” — and his new show as the slithery descendant of “The Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin. But the South African snake wrangler doesn’t even know Irwin by name.

During a phone call from his home in Namibia, Stevens said he’d only seen “bits and pieces of the Australian guy,” adding: “He seems to be pretty good.”

What Stevens lacks in Animal Planet host familiarity, he makes up for in snake knowledge. The 54-year-old is a photographer and herpetologist who’s studied hundreds of species. During the 13 episodes of “Austin Stevens: Snakemaster,” which premieres tonight, Stevens travels from Arizona to Borneo in search of the world’s rarest reptiles, such as the Western diamondback rattlesnake and the king cobra.

“People fear them so much and they’re so misunderstood,” said Stevens, who’s been bitten so many times he only keeps track of lethal bites.

Although Stevens has hosted Animal Planet specials, this is his first U.S. series. And the kung fu black belt is particularly frank about his on-camera skills.

“I don’t set anything up,” said Stevens. “I don’t arrange anything. I talk as best as I can.

“I’m not a narrator. I’m just a little bushman who knows something about wildlife. I’m not trying to ham it up in any way.”