Haast added a snake exhibit to the business. I stood, many times, on the grass in the little circle just feet from the Cobra at milking time. We also used to go to his show at the Serpentarium, and it fascinated my brother. Dr. Haast met my pediatrician at Baptist Hospital in Miami. Also wonder if that huge Cobra statue is still on the property..and still scary as hell!!!!!!!!! THE BAND FROM SOUTH MIAMI HIGH RODE WITH THE COBRA TO THE SCHOOL ON A FLAT BED TRUCK WITH THE BAND HAPPILY PLAYING AND BEATING THEIR DRUMS--SUDDENLY--SEVERAL CARS AHEAD OF ME THE SNAKE --WHICH WAS PLANTED STRAIGHT UP--SUDDENLY FELL APART ON THE TRUCK --JUST SORT OF DISENTAGRATED --AND THE BOTTOM WAS RUINED--BUT A SMALL PART INCLUDING THE HEAD REMAINED-AND APPEARED UNDAMAGED---AND I PRESUME--MADE IT SAFELY TO THE SCHOOL--J. MUDD. His wife Nancy and I had been pleasantly talking an she was so fearful that she held my arm and squeezed hard, all the while telling me that a bite from that king cobra would likely kill Bill , because up to that point he had been bitten some 23 times , but never by a king cobra one drop of which can kill 5 men. All he did was yell ouch and that concludes the show for today. Haast went to the pit with a pistol the very next day and shot the croc. Tragically, a 6-year-old boy fell in and died in 1977. I remember those two huge crocs, one Nile and one American. We finally found them on the bottom of my feet. It was a rattle snake. 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.. A wealthy lawyer who killed his wife and son at close range has been sentenced in one of the most troubling cases the judge said he had seen. Every week, Haast still injects his arm with a cocktail of venom from five snakes -- cobras, mambas, kraits, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes. The boy was swimming in a river with a friend on Thursday when the incident occurred. Having said all that, thank you Mr. Haas for all your wonderful work with snakes. He would tell us stories about going to Boy Scout Camp with this extraordinary man, Bill Hasst. My first visit to the Serpentarium was in the summer of '56 when I visited family friends who lived on Key Biscayne. I helped the staff along with about 6-8 other visitors in straightening out the snake (as much as he would let us), to be measured. With his certification, he moved to Miami to work for Pan American World Airways. The location of where the 2yr old is missing. Crocodile That Killed Boy Is Shot to Death - The New York Times boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium. After Bill sold the Serpentarium, our 12,000 sq.ft. Haast, the world-renowned ''Miami snakeman,'' is now 95 and living on a sprawling Punta Gorda ranch with his third wife, Nancy -- and 400 snakes that supply his venom-selling Miami Serpentarium Laboratories. I got my love of snakes (I'm a girl) growing up in Miami going repeatedly to the Serpentarium. Alligator drags toddler, 2, into lagoon near Disney's Grand - news Today, Van Horn owns Reptile World Serpentarium near St. I would vacation with my parents in Florida in the summer months. My oldest brother had met a girl who, I believe, had worked at the Miami Serpentarium. The boy's family never sued, accepting only the maximum insurance payment, Haast said. Part scientist, part entertainer, Haast spent his early years in Miami as a mechanic for Pan Am, while he built the snake farm he called The Serpentarium along a portion of U.S. 1 that is today called Pinecrest. The gentle smile said yes as I ran in the house saying " He' a Colonel Dick a real live Colonel!!!" May he live far past the hundreds. "We know that there are crocodiles and burrows, but we don't have a notion or a pattern to work on.". 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. Jaws dropped. I thought that was pretty cool back then, and still do. 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. The crocodile is believed to measure 2.5 to three . Florida Icon - Bill Haast, Snake Handler - Miami Serpentarium "I just have a curious nature," 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. His first king cobra bite was in 1962. Not sure she had quite the same fascination that I did but it's still very memorable. Boy Dies After Falling Into Crocodile Pit, https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/04/archives/boy-dies-after-falling-into-crocodile-pit.html. When we got home, she handed me a small travel bag that she had carried with her on board the airplane. With 43 types of antivenin, a diverse enough supply to treat 90 percent of all bites, the unit's antivenin bank supplies the U.S. military and hospitals around the nation -- sometimes the world. When I was a little girl, we lived in Kendall. The Serpentarium was a magical place and Mr. Haast was a very interesting fellow. I sure do remember Mr. Haast as I bought the 1969 GT500 Shelby that he once owned. I am now 42 years with a very youthful appearance and in excellent health! I believe that it was one of the great thrills of my life. The cheerleaders and marching band of South Miami High, home of the Cobras, screamed and pounded their feet. That was South Dade, Florida, relatively free of the most venomous snakes because Bill Hass and the Serpentarium. ''I know a lot of people in Miami still remember the Serpentarium and wonder what became of me, that's why I'm talking to you,'' said Haast, who would only be interviewed by telephone. Haast's passing reminded South Floridians of a certain age of the bygone era when entrepreneurs could set up quirky roadside attractions along Dixie Highway, US 1, to thrill both local school kids and wintering vacationers who fled the cold. Haast retained custody of their son, Bill Jr. and continued to work as a mechanic for Pan Am while he built the Serpentarium. But none the less just because Mr. Hass felt bad about what happened he, Haas, shot the alligator for no reason. (and I have literally been attacked by a shark, which resulted in 30 days in the hospital, and losing half a lung) My point? Needless to say I was quite nervous also, thinking of what might happen if that snake went through the crowd. The whole experience seemed to do the trick, as he never displayed such fear of snakes again after that. ''I would hide them in my tool box,'' he said. He gathered 400 cobras and took his findings to a University of Miami researcher. It took a group of people to get . He respected him very much. I got excited thinking it was a new toy. I visited the Serpentarium in the late 70s on a trip down to Key West. 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. For Haast, the weekly shots paid off, helping him to survive 172 venomous snake bites. He agreed to chat only by telephone with a Miami Herald reporter. Serpentarium Owner Dies at 100 - NBC 6 South Florida 10 Most Lethal Crocodile Attacks Ever Recorded In History Authorities found the remains of the . I would take the rattlesnake skins and rub salt into them to try to preserve them. Julio's distraught parents have urged authorities to find the crocodile and kill it. Yep, I was a snake kid, read all the books in my library, found "Cobras In His Garden" and was as surprised as my parents when Bill Haast wrote back to me a few times. While on my honeymmon in Orlando we rode down to Miami to the Serpentarium and watched Bill milk some snakes. I told my mother how I'd really like to get an Indigo and she kind of shrugged it off. 12-foot crocodile . He has written a book called 'The World of Snakes. ' In 1980 we took my late husband who had ALS (Lou Gerhig's Disease) to the Miama Clinic where. Crocodile Mauls Child to Death in Front of Horrified Parents Their daughters, Nya and Shantee probably do not even remeber me (it was in the early seventies). Wow the good old days and funny thing is my name is Cookie!!! THRIVING BUSINESS Despite the medical debacles, the Serpentarium continued to flourish. Worst time of my life!!! It was in 1960, I was in my junior year at San fernando Valley State college at Northridge ,California. Bill Jr. eventually left, having lost interest in snakes, but not before he had been bitten four times by venomous snakes. We ran it over, and with a little coaxing, I convinced the driver to return. When asked if Disney was aware of alligators on the property, Wahaler advised there were signs that said no swimming. Inside the bag was a cardboard box with holes in it. I hope you live to 100 to prove snake venon is an anti aging wonder. I followed his instructions and he was right. Watching Bill milk then tube feed special formula into those angry hooded cobras he'd take out of the boxes is something I will never forget. Police spokesperson Rohan Shah Ahmad said: "There were severe injuries on the boy's body including his waist, chest and stomach." 13 I was fascinated watching them put Mr Haast's feeding tube down and feed the snake. He didn't do it out of anger because the crocodile was just doing what comes naturally to him, Clarita Haast said. I don't know. 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. Several people on social media said the child was on the beach at the time watching a movie. He died of natural causes on Wednesday in Punta Gorda, on Florida's west coast, where he had made his home. Anyone can read what you share. We lived in Southern California. I'm glad I got to experience that part of S. Florida/s history, visiting The Serpentarium, now part of mine. I worked at the Serpentarium for roughly a year, about two years before it closed. boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium How did he get them through Customs? Read More on The US Sun. Using nothing but a thin hooked metal rod. From Dadeland areafor you have info, on this still. BILL PUT ON HIS MILKING SHOW WHEN A SNAKE IN BILL'S HAND WIGGLED AROUND AND SPRAYED A WHITE LIQUID FROM THE REAR OF THE SNAKE INTO THE CROWD AND ACROSS THIS WOMEN'S LEGS IN FRONT OF US. Miami's independent source of There was a "movie night" outside on the beach tonight Saying the alligator might have attacked the baby on the beach. More animals than anyone I ever knew, and of every variety. It was damaged by a hurricane in 2005 and they just built a new one. Keepers were forced to shoot and kill the 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe. I liked that his shows were practical and informative with very little hype, but fascinating nonetheless. The attackers included cobras, a krait, green mambas, a pygmy rattlesnake, a European asp and a palm viper. Smocks. Sometimes a snake would upstage Haast, biting him in front of spectators. 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. 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. a woman in Florida died after she fell into a pond and was attacked by two alligators, the remains of a 14-year-old boy were cut from a crocodile's stomach, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. I was 16 yrs.old and going outside at night with no shoes on and stepped on the snake in the dark. 12-year-old boy Charlie Buhl describes crocodile attack, rescue at I . Alligator seen dragging child into the water. I've outlived all my friends down there.'' Turns out that I was talking to Bill Hast. Opening day was Jan. 1, 1948. My granddaddy was Robert Kundtz, horticulurist. As people gathered close Bill unlatched the door on the end of the cage. Everyone sold them to the Serpentarium for $1.25/Ft, good money in those days. Haast and his teenage son, Bill Jr., began constructing snake pits, the beginning of the Serpentarium. Bill Haast's daughter was in my 4th grade class and we went to the Serpentarium for a field trip. Authorities contacted the boys family to express their condolences, Sheriff Demings said, adding there is no question we will lose a two-year-old child. I lived on Homestead AFB 1960-66 and as a kid visited the Serpentarium many times. The injections are a routine he began in 1948 -- the year he opened the Serpentarium -- and continued after he closed it in 1984. Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his wife and son. ''I could become a poster boy for the benefits of venom,'' Haast jokes. That was in 1971 and I kept that car until 3 years ago when I sold it for 35000.00 in pieces. Now 39, he is a member of the rescue department's anti-venin unit that rushes to inject those bitten by a poisonous snake. Is it the venom? Apparently the damaged tail had to be amputated afterwards. And modern medical researchers are proving him right snake venom fractions are becoming recognized as potent medicines. He suffered 17 bites that nearly killed him, one put him in an iron lung for three days, his system paralyzed. In 1978, one of my first acts as a new husband on my honeymoon was to bring my new bride to the Serp (30 years later and she hasn't forgotten that one) so she could witness what I'd described so many times. A Disney spokeswoman did not go into detail about the tragic incident but said the resort was devastated and was helping the family and authorities. Originally, the shots immunized Haast against snake bites, an occupational hazard. He introduced himself as Col. Spencer, I introduced myself as "I'm Mark and could my brother Dick come too?" Bill was like a super hero to me as a kid. My Grandfather was a construction worker and used to drop me off there every day over the summer, and weekends when he would work. Well, my mother went on a vacation to the Miami area. 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. He purchased his first exotic snake, a diamondback rattler, from a catalog. I still miss the animals. 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 recall going with my brother to the airport to pick her up upon her arrival. bill was to capture this cobra and milk it for the crowd. And we often talked of many things when she came in to South Dixie Amoco to have the well-maintained car serviced. Addressed to Guest: How dare you ever get on a site, and reproach a man for his dispair over the loss of an innocent 6 year old boy. Mr Graves desperately tried to rescue his son but was unsuccessful. In 1946 Haast decided he had enough money saved to start his snake farm. 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. Earlier on Wednesday, Orlando authorities told reporters there was no question that the young boy was dead. He bought a plot of land facing U.S. 1, south of Miami, then sold his house and started construction on the Serpentarium. Creator Of Miami Serpentarium Dies At 100 - CBS Miami - CBS News [8], Haast closed the Serpentarium in 1984, and moved to Utah for a few years. I couldn't take the anti-venom so Dr. Haast instructed the hospital on how to treat me. He was a great neighborhhod Dad, and I will always remember the fun we had with he, his wife and his children. 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 visited the Serpentarium November 22, 1965 while on my Honeymoon with my wife Lynne. Disney honours two-year-old boy killed by alligator at park REMAINS of a fourteen-year-old boy have been pulled from inside a crocodile's belly after he was eaten alive. We donated it to the serpentarium. Rescuers were able to recover his body from the water in December 2020, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. People were always getting bitten, but they are so small that they rarely killed anyone. It was a close call, one that underscored the county's need for an antivenin bank, Cruz said. . Drivers passing the former site of. At first he believed his immunization to cobra venom would protect him from the krait venom, and continued with his regular activities for several hours. It was July, 1972, and my family was making our first visit to the Serpentarium. The findings were very encouraging, Haast said. i grew -up in south fla. in the sixties through the eighties,reading about bill haast brought back so many great memories.it was a huge treat when my mom and dad would pile all five of us kids in our station wagon a few times a year and spend the day at the miami serpentarium. I then got a "thank you". 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. Haast started collecting snakes and, after initial opposition from his mother, was allowed to keep them at home. I was a nurse in the ICU at Variety Children's Hospital on at least three of Haast's admissions after snake bites. Zoo director Thane Maynard said the zoos dangerous animal response team decided the boy was in a life-threatening situation and they needed to put down the 200kg male gorilla. In April 2010, a 25-year-old woman from New Jersey was killed by a . "Bill Haast, a Man Charmed by Snakes, Dies at 100", "Owner destroys crocodile that killed boy, may close serpentarium", "Icon: Bill Haast Snake handler, venom researcher, age 97", "100 years and kicking: Happy Birthday, Bill Haast", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Haast&oldid=1079333500, This page was last edited on 26 March 2022, at 06:33. boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium 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. No matter where we went, Miami was Bill's real home. This subspecies, restricted to the Florida Keys, obviously was named for Bill Haast. When we got the photos back, the film was sun damaged, so the next year I went back to hold the Indigo again and friend, Dave took the picture. Dr. Ben Sheppard mentioned in the article helped me with my drug addiction in 1974. After his wife became pregnant, Haast lost his job when the speakeasy he was working at was raided by IRS agents. Knowing me from my letters, he seemed genuinely interested in the details I told him about my own small collection. He had so much venom in him that we were told even a bee sting could kill him. 76. The animal was of no harm to anyone other than the fool who would allow his self to fall in. All rights reserved, See Where Florida Ranks Among The Cheapest and Most Expensive U.S. THE body of the two-year-old boy, Lane Graves, snatched by an alligator at a Disney resort has . Before this, the crocodile had lived for 20 years in the pit without incident. I'd rather go back in the ocean than back to the Serpentarium! Two-year-old Lane Thomas Graves had been playing in . When I opened the box I saw my new pet, a 6 foot beautiful Indigo Snake. Although the boy's father did not blame Haast for his son's death, Haast told reporters he wanted nothing else to do with the Serpentarium and, in any event, would never again house crocodiles there. My dad and I still talk about this over 40 years later! He was rushed to see a doctor, but quickly recovered without further treatment. Haast's second wife, Clarita, simply narrated, setting the mood for the audience. Icon: Bill Haast. Haast's death-defying act didn't disappoint. ", By his 95th birthday, he was a bit of a recluse. The incident did not end Haast's interest in venom research. We entered the Serpentarium and a fellow (Haas) walked out of the back office to greet the tourists and said" he's dead" referring to John F. Kennedy, President of the USA. For inspiration and advice, he leaned on Haast. ``I feel like a man in his 60s.'' It is unknown whether the signs mentioned anything about alligators crawling in the waters. As a result of handling these snakes, Haast had been bitten 172 times by mid-2008,[4] all of which but the last few were validated by the Guinness Book of World Records "for surviving the most deadly snake bites", a distinction Haast disliked as he did not think being bitten was a goal to be attained or admired.[5]. It was intuitive. It was a very low wall. 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. Eventually, his collection became one of the most diverse venomous snakes on the planet. By 1965 the Serpentarium housed more than 500 snakes in 400 cages and three pits in the courtyard. For almost four decades, Haast charmed curious tourists who flocked to his South Dixie Highway attraction, the Miami Serpentarium, to watch his snake show. I'm sorry I can never take my grandchildren there. Eventually Bill charmed that snake and on one of its downstrikes quicker than the snake could react Bill had it behind the head and then as a finale milked a big load of venom. Very cool regular people with a very irregular life and lifestyle.loved them..they enriched my lifewould love to see how big the oaktree is now that grew up through their pool screen enclosure. "Miami was in Bill's heart to the end," his widow said. I gathered from what he said that it would not bother him in the least were this variety of snake removed from its separate classification and returned to the larger taxon from which someone had extracted it. Most people working in the biological field take some pride in having a species or subspecies named for them, but Haast seemed to have none of that. FOR THE MIAMI HERALD King cobras. When I was a child in the 1950's, Mama made us stay in the house. When he was 19 he joined a man who had a roadside snake exhibit, and went with him to Florida. The emergency services unit celebrated its 10th year recently at the Metro Zoo in Miami. 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 . Among them a zoo director from Des Moines, a local construction worker and a Venezuelan father. While he was extracting venom from a small cobra, he was struck on the thumb and calmly told his wife that he was going to lie down for awhile. This will be of interest to some out there. I visited the Serpentarium in1969 as an 18-year-old on spring break with a buddy. A massive crocodile attacked and ate an 8-year-old girl while she was bathing in the river with friends. I cant imagine what those parents are going through. 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. They had the best house! . Finding this site reminds me what saints my parents were! Devastated villages shouted the name 'Dimas' in hope of the boy still being alive as the crocodile was hauled ashore. He was carrying a snake-bite kit, and had a friend inject him with antivenom; the bite hospitalized him for a week. I lived across South Dixie Highway from the Miami Serpentarium. In 1949, he began supplying venom to a medical researcher at the University of Miami for experiments in the treatment of polio. They considered him a glorified snake-handler, a showman, a medicine man. He was in a special hospital room on site with feet and hands swollen into black balls and other life threatening injuries incurred from what I recall as being a diamondback rattler bite. But Jonas Salk produced a polio vaccine in April 1955, ending Haast's first effort to turn venom into a miracle drug. However, the venom eventually did affect him, and he was taken to a hospital where it took him several days to recover. His powerful blood also rescued 21 snake-bite victims. As far as I recall, the Cobra on the roof was the one from the Serpentarium. We gave Dr.Haast large Andaconda in 1965". 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.