The boy's father and uncle jumped into the ?it and tried to pry open the crocodile's mouth. I grew up near the Serpentarium , and played baseball @ Suniland Park..Many times during games , an iguana that had escaped from the serpentarium , would run across the field..As kids , we too ,sold snakes to the facility , and we managed to see the show several times a yearwe would ride our bikes to Parrot Jungle and the Serpentarium and see all kinds of rare wild animals and snakes , and birds , then fish salt or fresh water within a few miles of homegreat place to grow up in the 60's. The boy was swimming in a river with a friend on Thursday when the incident occurred. My brother was always over there buying, trading snakes. As far as I recall, the Cobra on the roof was the one from the Serpentarium. I took care of Clarita Haast's original Continental Mark. I stood, many times, on the grass in the little circle just feet from the Cobra at milking time. Luckily though, I see from visiting one of the links that there is an attraction to view snake milking in St. Rescuers were able to recover his body from the water in December 2020, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr. Hasst brought out a huge 16 foot long King Cobra and kept it controlled on the lawn in front of us. Haast's hands suffered venom-caused tissue damage, culminating in the loss of a finger following a bite from a Malayan pit viper in 2003. I well remember Bill Haast and his snake "milking" shows. I introduced myself and got my wife and kids to meet him too. "If I live to be 100, I'll really make the point. Demings said there had been no other recent reports of similar alligator attacks on the lake. Haast died June 15, 2011 at age 100. It became bigger than I expected,'' he said. In 2019 The Sun reported on the tragic death of a boy, ten, who was killed by crocodile after being dragged from a boat in front of his horrified family. National television shows hosted by Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas and Johnny Carson invited him or featured him during visits to Miami. She had given me some information on the Serpentarium and I got interested in Indigo Snakes. Mr Graves desperately tried to rescue his son but was unsuccessful. His contribution to antivenin science is unparalleled and earned him recognition throughout his life. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, who would go on to become the face of Zoo Miami, Associated Press dispatch quoted a wildlife officer, Haast pumped nine shots from a Luger pistol, finally closing the tourist attraction in 1984. So, on a trip to visit my parents in Miami, when Scot was two (1977), we took him to the Miami Serpentarium. The Serpentarium's landmark 35-foot-high, hooded, concrete-and-stucco cobra stuck out its forked tongue at motorists and arriving patrons on South Dixie Highway and Southwest 126th Street. I live in Sarasota now and totally enjoy the water, I think those times are responceable. Today, Van Horn owns Reptile World Serpentarium near St. They had the best house! He loved his animals and was deeply committed to bringing them to the world in an educated, and respectful manner. When I was young I was always interested in snakes. But I remember leaning over the small wall to look closer at that croc when my feet slipped and I pitched forward towards the pit. I remember Cookie on the lawn, too! One day, a six-year-old boy fell into the crocodile pit at Miami Serpentarium and was killed by "Cookie", a 12-ft-long crocodile that had been living in the pit for 20 years without incident. He applied the standard snake-bite treatment of the time (making crossed cuts over the fang marks and applying potassium permanganate) and then walked four miles to the camp's first aid tent, by which time his arm was swollen. The 2-year-old boy grabbed by alligator at Disney hotel has been found dead, a source says https://t.co/SyWdOq9L87 https://t.co/xLMVr0orfE. https://t.co/suskABi6UPhttps://t.co/AfEdaZei5G. He shot the 1800-pound crocodile nine times with a Luger pistol, yet it was still an hour before it died. For Haast, the weekly shots paid off, helping him to survive 172 venomous snake bites. On September 3, 1977, a 6-year-old boy sitting atop the wall surrounding the Serpentarium's alligator and crocodile pit fell into the pit, and a 12-foot crocodile lunged ten feet and grabbed the boy. Oh my gosh..I worked on Bill and Nancy's house in P.G 15-20 years agomold issueshumidity problems..put an air exchanger in their snake area to control odorbut had strict guidelines to maintain high humidity. Still remember running a service call on a friday night for a NO COOLto be met by a Llama (male) at the entry gate who put his massive head through my truck window and pinned me against my seat..Nancy told me he liked me but to come back because she was delivering a Llama "cria". I'd rather go back in the ocean than back to the Serpentarium! At 19, he got a job with a roadside snake attraction. Not sure she had quite the same fascination that I did but it's still very memorable. Mr Haast came out at my parents request after thrilling us with a great show. The crocodile is suspected of eating a farmer who went missing in July in the town of Bunawan, and of killing a 12-year-old girl whose head was bitten off two years before. Another interesting attraction there were the large Galopagas turtles he had. There were two fatal alligator attacks in Florida last year in the first reported deaths since 2007. Thanks Bill for the show and GOD bless. Thanks for the wonderful memories and great work you have done. Keep it up Mr. Haast. My Grandfather was a construction worker and used to drop me off there every day over the summer, and weekends when he would work. Born William E. Haast on Dec. 30, 1910 in Paterson, N.J., he was a South Florida celebrity for surviving successive venomous snakebites. It was not that far from us and yet we were not fearful. I also supplied 40 desert sidewinder rattlesnakes for Jim to exhibit in a large glass fronted cage filled with sea sand. Authorities said the boy, who fell about three metres, was expected to recover after being picked up and dragged by Harambe for about 10 minutes. It was buried on the grounds. Nya used to take us after hours to the Serpentariumm to watch her Dad and his workers feed the animals. The couple moved back to New Jersey, where Haast studied aviation mechanics, and was certified after four years. I hope you live to 100 to prove snake venon is an anti aging wonder. May he live far past the hundreds. "He was a really nice man with a big heart," said his grand-niece Michelle Haast of Miami. I still miss the animals. I witnessed one such snake in 1985 on a dirt road in northeast Florida. I was the only customer there that early. Eventually, his collection became one of the most diverse venomous snakes on the planet. "Not to mention pretty damn smart. My father used to deliver popcorn to the Miami Serpentarium in the late 60's early 70's and I used to love to watch Mr. Haast handle the King Cobras. AN eight-year-old boy has been mauled to death by a crocodile just metres from his family home in Malaysia. The location of where the 2yr old is missing. Haast really wanted to find the cure or treatment for polio and feels he came close. In an enclosure) his parents should have supervised him much better. His unique contribution to medicine earned him widespread recognition. Dr. Haast met my pediatrician at Baptist Hospital in Miami. In 1990 he moved to Punta Gorda, Florida, with his snakes, where he established the Miami Serpentarium Laboratories. Suddenly, he heard screaming and ran toward the commotion. My parents stayed at the motel pool, while I was the first one thru the door at the Serpentarium that day. This subspecies, restricted to the Florida Keys, obviously was named for Bill Haast. Florida is considered one of the most vulnerable states in America when it comes to rising sea levels, causing the ocean to start seeping into the Everglades swampland, where alligators live. Every year we took a field trip there, and every year I looked forward to it. Looking back I'm glad it was in the dark because I never saw the snake Approximately an hour later my foot started aching and my parents looked all over my legs and feet for a bite mark. Having said all that, thank you Mr. Haas for all your wonderful work with snakes. While there, he ended up rooming with a moonshiner on the edge of the Everglades, and became proficient at capturing all kinds of snakes. His dream of creating a snake sanctuary grew nearer. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission executive director Nick Wiley said during a press conference that the incident was extremely rare and that officers were doing everything they could to prevent another attack. The last time I saw him he told me never to get bit again and offered me a job. I've outlived all my friends down there.' Alexander DeMella, who was watching the events unfold from his Disney balcony, told news.com.au that resort staff and authorities had said no one is allowed on the beaches at this time. My interest of reptiles was clearly fromed by Dr. Hasst and I have passed on some of it to my kids who now have a Bearded Dragon Dr. Hasst is a true legend.. Dogs, birds, skunks (if I remember correctly) and of course reptiles. As a result of the damage, Haast gave up handling venomous snakes, and no longer kept any at his facility. He would free the snakes on a table in front of him, then catch the snakes bare-handed, and force them to eject their venom into glass vials with a rubber membrane stretched across the top. other sizes: small original auto previous | next Unless otherwise noted under the right bottom of the photo, all images are copyrighted by Don Boyd comment | share But I must say he had a good sense of humor too. I said yes, I got to feed his snakes white mice, met his daughter (she had a pet lion), used to catch snakes and sell them to Mr. It took the 1,800pound reptile an hour to die. Turns out that I was talking to Bill Hast. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. "When he closed his doors there was a lapse and there were some fatalities related to exotic snake bites," said Chuck Seigert, of the Miami unit. They paid my mother something like $10 or more for the snake. "I know a lot of people in Miami still remember the Serpentarium and wonder what became of me," he said, "that's why I'm talking to you.". Apparently the damaged tail had to be amputated afterwards. Set in the American South in the 20th century. He has written a book called 'The World of Snakes. ' I somehow got to this page from an old email I found and did the Google thing for " Bill "Miami Snakeman" Haast " and here I find myself with those shared memories. I called Haast to see what he could tell me about it. In 1946 Haast decided he had enough money saved to start his snake farm. The whole experience seemed to do the trick, as he never displayed such fear of snakes again after that. In my Junior high days, I was a snake enthusiast. I've outlived all my friends down there.'' We got a motel room across the road from the Serpentarium. A 911 call was received at 9.16pm local time. The cheerleaders and marching band of South Miami High, home of the Cobras, screamed and pounded their feet. I am now 42 years with a very youthful appearance and in excellent health! I remember one time that one got the better of him and bit him in the neck. Haast is still trying to prove a point: He'll go to his grave believing venom can heal. Regarding Bill Haast's killing of Cookie the crocodile, bothe Bill Guest and jesse are wrong. Bill Haast (December 30, 1910 June 15, 2011[1]) was the owner and operator, from 1947 until 1984, of the Miami Serpentarium, a tourist attraction south of Miami, Florida, where he extracted venom from snakes in front of paying customers. Bill's dedication to helping science, medicine, and snakebite victims was always unwavering. My heart is shattered. In 1965, Cobras in his Garden, a book about Haast's exploits, was published. No matter where we went, Miami was Bill's real home. I wish I could have taken my girls there! Source = Youtube. As a joke on him, a staff member placed a rubber snake into one of the boxes that normally held a venomous snake for the show. ''I miss the excitement of the Serpentarium,'' Haast said. [4] As of 2008 he continued to have his wife inject him with small amounts of snake venom. Knowing me from my letters, he seemed genuinely interested in the details I told him about my own small collection. Name a deadly snake and Bill Haast has either tamed it or been bitten by it. A rare survivor, he declared himself doing "very well, anxious to get back to work.". I remember seeing an alligator gulping down whole chickens and being allowed to handle an Indigo snake after Mr. Haast's presentation. "It was his adopted city. ''I would hide them in my tool box,'' he said. joe pylandgrew up at sunniland park two blocks from the serpentarium.Remember it well..Billy..the grandson ran over my arm in 1962 with his bike..breaking it and I missed the 1st 6 weeks of Khoury League.Remember Haast tamping alsoThis man was incredidle and brave. On two trips to Florida in the late 60s, my parents took me to The Serpentarium. He had a clinic called St. Jude Clinic on SW 8 Street. I remember in 3rd grade, back in 1960, one of my classmates dropped her purse into the crocodile pit. I'd fainted at the realization of a whole baby pig inside that snake! According to eyewitnesses, the toddlers mother, Ms Graves, was playing with him at the time and also dived into the water. (and I have literally been attacked by a shark, which resulted in 30 days in the hospital, and losing half a lung) My point? Unfortunately, in 1977 a six-year-old boy fell into the crocodile pit at Miami Serpentarium and was killed by "Cookie", a 12-ft-long crocodile. Jim F. Thank you for bringing back many many wonderful memories. But he felt he couldn't continue to feed the crocodile and display him under these conditions.. [8], Haast closed the Serpentarium in 1984, and moved to Utah for a few years. . It had been bit my Cookie while trying to stop Cookie from getting out on US1.Also their pet lion jumped across the roof of the Shelby and the chain scratched the roof. His first king cobra bite was in 1962. I visited the Serpentarium in1969 as an 18-year-old on spring break with a buddy. I think its horrible that he killed that animal. Well I then came to his web site to find out how old Mr. Haast is today or if he is still alive. ''I know some people have said that about Bill, but he is one of the hardest-working, most diligent, focused individuals you'll ever meet,'' said Van Horn, 62, who worked at the Serpentarium as a young man. By 1984, interest in such roadside attractions like the Serpentarium had waned. Haast extracted venom 70 to 100 times a day from some 60 species of venomous snakes, usually in front of an audience of paying customers. Look at how big the transplanted Pythons get and that they thrive and fight the alligators in the Everglades. Great stories were told on our nightly walks, stories of Africa in the "War" , Safaries, snakes hey we like snakes , Dick gets in troule all the time with his snakes. I was a child in Florida in the 60's and I saw many, many of Dr. Hasst's shows and remember being concerned the snakes might get away and come towards me of course they never did.. Of course he would buy the rare Indigo snakes, because they could rear up and spread their neck like a Cobra, but were not poisonous. My father grew up and was born in Paterson, as well. I also remember hearing a story about him saving the lives of GI`s in Vietnam who had jumped from a helicopter into some poisonous snakes. I read the part of this article where Mr. Haas had to shoot an allegator because a boy fell into the pit and the alligator ate him (is'nt that what allegators do eat anything including yu?) Sheriff Demings said the father suffered from minor scratches on his hands and believed the mother also entered the water at one point in a desperate attempt to retrieve their child. Join the New Times community and help support We ran it over, and with a little coaxing, I convinced the driver to return. The honor, bestowed by Miami's mayor, was delivered to Haast at his home east of Punta Gorda by members of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Unit. The Serpentarium opened at the end of 1947, still not completed. Miami's independent source of This tornado also picked up a dredge crane, working on one of the drainage canals, and placed it across the canal without any significant damage. PARROT JUNGLE, MONKEY JUNGLE, SEAQUARIUM, ETC. MIAMI, Sept. 3 (UPI)A 6yearold boy tumbled into a crocodile pit at the Miami Serpentarium today and a 14 foot, 1,800pound African crocodile snapped its jaws around the child's. "Since we don't know which cave it is, or which crocodile because there are several, it's very difficult to focus on a single point. The boy's family never sued, accepting only the maximum insurance payment, Haast said. He said at that time if he lived to be 100 it would possibly prove that snake venom is anti aging. More than twenty of those individuals recovered.[7]. We watched the show (I don't remember if the presenter was Mr. Haast), and afterwards, Scot was encouraged to touch several snakes. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. I think that this Dr., was loved by thousands of Miamians, because of him lives are save. Responders at Disney World searching for boy who was dragged into a lagoon by an alligator. But his wife said that the crocodile, named Cookie, was killed and buried in the same pit where it. Two swimmers taking an early morning dip in a Florida canal have earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first humans in the United States to be bitten by an American crocodile . Quite a memory! We gave Dr.Haast large Andaconda in 1965". I was 11 in 1972 when my folks agreed to stop at the Serpentarium when our family of seven drove down from Massachusetts to Key West for February school vacation. One particular snake that I remember from my childhood visits to the Serpentarium was a big, oversized Florida Eastern Diamond Back rattlesnake. As my mother was paying our admission, a worker rushed over to tell us that we were going to miss the King cobra show. In the late 1940s, it occurred to Haast that the symptoms of polio mirrored the nerve and muscle disruption caused by a cobra bite. A small alligator, maybe 5 foot with tail had gotten loose and was wandering. Five alligators have already been caught in the lagoon and euthanised for analysis. Police spokesperson Rohan Shah Ahmad said: "There were severe injuries on the boy's body including his waist, chest and stomach." 13 It took a group of people to get . I thought that was pretty cool back then, and still do. I worked at the Serpentarium for roughly a year, about two years before it closed. The boy and another friend decided to go . Florida is renowned for having more alligators than any other US state. The man who mesmerized generations of paying customers from 1947 to 1984 by extracting venom at his Miami Serpentarium as a spine-tingling South Florida attraction is dead. Julio's distraught parents have urged authorities to find the crocodile and kill it. In the early 1970s, I was carrying out a survey to document the status of certain native reptiles and amphibians of a seven-county area iof siytgh Florida. An eight-year-old boy was dragged underwater and mauled to death by a crocodile in front of his horrified parents while paddling in shallow water in a river near his home in Costa Rica. I was a good friend with Bill Haast's grandson Willie, He and I would catch snakes and bring them to the Surpentarium, I also would go camping in the everglades with Willie and his sister pinkie and their mom and dad, we would swim in the water around gaters and catch snakes. "My So-Called Life", pg. The legacy left him immunized, enabling him to donate life-saving blood to 21 victims across the years. We had an iguana that was too large to keep. Originally, the shots immunized Haast against snake bites, an occupational hazard. And in July, a woman in Florida died after she fell into a pond and was attacked by two alligators. When he had enough, he opened the Serpentarium in Miami in 1946. They moved to Florida so that Haast could pursue his dream of opening a "snake farm". Haast jumped down into the pit. The boy's father and another man, Nicolas Caulineau, jumped into the pit and straddled the crocodile. THAT WAS THE MOST MEMORIBLE PART OF THAT VACATION. Also wonder if that huge Cobra statue is still on the property..and still scary as hell!!!!!!!!! Haast killed the croc the next day. I visited The Serpentarium in '78. My father used to deliver popcorn to the Miami Serpentarium in the late 60's early 70's and I used to love to watch Mr. Haast handle the King Cobras. It was slithering across the road, which was about 11 feet across and the snakes head and tail were not clearly visible. Thinking back, that have been Cookie. He could not have been nicer to us and spent some time talking to us. "Our unit wouldn't be around if it wasn't for him; he's the inspiration," said Al Cruz, the unit's founder, standing beneath the tall branches of a live oak that Haast had allowed to grow through his screened pool patio. But thanks to Bill, there were not many poisonous snakes left in South Dade in the 60s-70s when I had an youngsters craving for catching reptiles. Tatiana Daz, regional director of the Limn Red Cross, has tried to explain the attack. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. From Dadeland areafor you have info, on this still. ( Because they wouldn't let me move here by myself.) When she reached into the box and found movement inside she shrieked so loudly we could hear her from far across the large garden, and we chuckled "I guess she found it" Someone said. They all screamed, then everyone had a good laughed together! A crew of more than 50 people, including experienced alligator trappers and sheriffs department divers using sonar equipment, helicopters and boats searched the network of man-made canals, ponds and lakes to recover the boys body. At the same time his work saved dozens of lives. That applies to the many other wildlife that existed back then. MIAMI, Sept. 4 (UPI)A 12foot African crocodile that killed a 6yearold boy was killed today by the owner of the Miami Serpentarium, who pumped nine shots into it with a Luger pistol. I regretfully declined. I'm sure they still carry around enough guilt, even after all this time, without you adding to it. See, when a poisonous snake bites you, and his fangs (having hypodermic-like hollow holes at their points) inject their venom , they are in fact "digesting" you while you diethe venom is softening up your tissue, destroying it, making you easier to eat, digesthence Mr. Haas' fingers were so deformed? All this may be imaginative conjecture of a teenage boy.. .Once thing sure, though, Him and his wife sure looked scary, to we boys, in those white Drs. Every so often the evening news would announce "Bill Haast had been bitten by a poisonous snake AGAIN." Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahaler said everyone at the resort was devastated by what happened and Disney was helping the family. He agreed to chat only by telephone with a Miami Herald reporter. Our carpet showroom and warehaouse was open on Monday & Friday nights and some very strange noises were heard at night as you would walk through the warehouse. REMAINS of a fourteen-year-old boy have been pulled from inside a crocodile's belly after he was eaten alive. However, sometime in my teens I developed a real fear of snakes, somewhat unusual since there were no poisonous varieties in my area. I. Woww! "He was into it for the science on how snake venom affected the body," said the grand-niece who worked at The Serpentarium as a teen in the 1980s. I remeber in 1970 when I went to JFK junior high in miami we went on a field trip to the serpentarium I am now 50 years old and never forgot the place.I did make a serious mistake while there that people I tell find hard to believe.there was this hudge round pit with a wall around it, in it was what looked to me like a large stone grey statue of a crcodile well I went in there touched it and one eye opened and I was out of that pit like a rocket.this crocodile was at least 15 feet long it must have been sleeping lucky for me.Bill left a lifetime of memories for a 13 yearold kid the man truely is a legend that has no equal in the reptile world. The incident left Bill Haast badly shaken. But the reptile managed to crawl away into a moat in the 50foot square pit, dragging the child with him. Keepers were forced to shoot and kill the 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe. I think one of the two men was Mr. Haast himself. Some questions, like the one a decade ago from Cruz, the venom unit founder, mean the difference between life and death. Using nothing but a thin hooked metal rod. When I was in high school I worked at the Serpentarium and even helped out with the King Cobra Shows on the weekend. His wife Ann did not approve, and they eventually divorced. The Depression killed the snake attraction, so Haast went to work for a bootlegger based in the Florida Everglades, until revenue agents busted their still. An eight-year-old boy was dragged underwater and mauled to death by a crocodile in front of his horrified parents while paddling in shallow water in a river near his home in Costa Rica. He inspired a life long love of reptiles for me and now my two children.. We looked out and could see both Bill and Nancy peeking out from their office with a big grin! In his trademark white lab coat, he would approach a venomous reptile, lure it with one hand and grab its head with the other. The gentle smile said yes as I ran in the house saying " He' a Colonel Dick a real live Colonel!!!" I have returned to see his show at thye Serpentarium and have watched him with his wife on the Merv Griffith show & others ( I think also the Jonny Carson Show) many years later. I am a big guy and I thought we could easily hold him still. I have Ophidiophobia (not herpetophobia the fear of reptiles) a true fear of snakes. Thank you for reminding me about this incredible man. Now, he believes, the long-term benefits of the shots have spared him from many of the maladies of old age. I have watched tv programs about him on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel. For the first five years Bill, Clarita, and his son were the only staff. independent local journalism in Miami. One time, he bought a black snake from Mr. Haast, named it "Rodney" and promptly wrapped it around my neck when my mom wasn't looking. See the article in its original context from. THIS SOFT SPOKEN WOMAN TURNED TO HER FAMILY AND SAID "I'VE COME ALL THE WAY TO MIAMI TO HAVE SOME SNAKE S__T ON ME". But Haast had detractors. I will forever carry fond memories of "Doc" and how he turned my life around. We lived in Southern California. At the time of the TV airing Mr. Haast was 87 years old and quite handsome he looked no older that early 50s. the shows were fantastic , there was so much to explore everything was clean and the whole haast family were always charming.my family became amateur experts on exotic snakes and have read and watched everything we could over the years.but nothing ever compared to mr. haast. A massive crocodile attacked and ate an 8-year-old girl while she was bathing in the river with friends. When the show headed to Florida, Haast convinced his parents to let him go. My "fondest" memory: sitting on the side of the crock pit with my butt hanging over the edge, the wall wasn't but a couple feet tall, right? "I just have a curious nature," he said.