I'm sure they still carry around enough guilt, even after all this time, without you adding to it. A rare survivor, he declared himself doing "very well, anxious to get back to work.". I believe that it was one of the great thrills of my life. There was a "movie night" outside on the beach tonight Saying the alligator might have attacked the baby on the beach. Nya used to take us after hours to the Serpentariumm to watch her Dad and his workers feed the animals. Julio Otero Fernndez was wading knee-deep in the Matina River in Limn, eastern Costa Rica, when the reptile lunged at him, pulled him under and killed him. We would eat the snakes, along with all the fish and snapping turtles we could catch from the Lakeland area lakes. Don Julio told the Mail Online: "The hardest thing for my wife was seeing the crocodile float with my son's body.". He suffered 17 bites that nearly killed him, one put him in an iron lung for three days, his system paralyzed. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. I lived on Homestead AFB 1960-66 and as a kid visited the Serpentarium many times. . . WHEN WE WENT TO THE SERPENTARIUM, WE WERE IN THE CROWD WITH MOSTLY OUT OF TOWNERS. I'll never forget April Fools day there! "It was his adopted city. It was 1929. "He was a really nice man with a big heart," said his grand-niece Michelle Haast of Miami. A krait anti-venom was shipped from India, but when it arrived after a 48-hour flight, he refused to accept it. It was an experiment, but having received his first venomous snake bite as a teenager, Haast was used to risks. He became interested in snakes while at a Boy Scout summer camp when he was 11 years old. I'm very glad I did. The boy's father and uncle jumped into the ?it and tried to pry open the crocodile's mouth. Art Levy | 8/1/2008. Sheriff Demings identified the young boy as two-year-old Lane Graves of Nebraska, whose parents are Matt and Melissa Graves. My dad and I still talk about this over 40 years later! "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. I thought that was pretty cool back then, and still do. When our son was very small, he was afraid of snakes. He was able to identify the type of snake that bit me by the bite marks. With his certification, he moved to Miami to work for Pan American World Airways. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. An eight-year-old boy was mauled to death by a crocodile just metres from his family home in Malaysia. So, on a trip to visit my parents in Miami, when Scot was two (1977), we took him to the Miami Serpentarium. My Parents said we know Mr. Haast would you like to see his snake farm. We finally found them on the bottom of my feet. There were eyewitnesses here who certainly saw the child taken under the water, Sheriff Demings said. Crowds cheered as he collected venom from the snakes in dramatic displays. Knowing me from my letters, he seemed genuinely interested in the details I told him about my own small collection. Still recognized as a top authority on venomous snakes, Haast, who moved his snakes to a lab on his sprawling Charlotte County complex in 1990 (he no longer has snakes there), said he answers questions from callers every day. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. His unique contribution to medicine earned him widespread recognition. His first king cobra bite was in 1962. It became bigger than I expected,'' he said. I am a big guy and I thought we could easily hold him still. 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.. I'm glad I got to experience that part of S. Florida/s history, visiting The Serpentarium, now part of mine. We have tried to cover and visualize some, we have implemented a hook with a strip to see if it pulls something, but to no avail. Early in Haast's career, he slogged the wilds of the Everglades collecting cottonmouths and rattlers. When I was in high school I worked at the Serpentarium and even helped out with the King Cobra Shows on the weekend. My girlfiends and I would catch 7 - 8 foot Indio snakes and we would beg my mother to drive us over to the Serpentarium so we could sell the snakes to Dr. Haas. It was a rattle snake. So long Mr. Haast, you were a great man. During its heyday, it attracted about 50,000 Florida visitors a year. VENOM `POSTER BOY' The medical establishment -- and the Food and Drug Administration -- never bought into Haast's enthusiasm for the lethal snake juice as treatment for multiple sclerosis, lupus, arthritis and Parkinson's disease. Walt Disney World has unveiled a lighthouse memorial for a young boy who was killed by an alligator while on holiday at the Florida theme park. I believe he gave them some of his blood with the anti-bodies and that saved their lives. Well I then came to his web site to find out how old Mr. Haast is today or if he is still alive. The incident did not end Haast's interest in venom research. 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. Look at how big the transplanted Pythons get and that they thrive and fight the alligators in the Everglades. Five alligators have already been caught in the lagoon and euthanised for analysis. 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. But I must say he had a good sense of humor too. Bowker, of New York, pleaded guilty for his role in arranging for 22 snakes to be delivered to the Serpentarium in an apparent swap for the same number of American alligators. boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium. The couple moved back to New Jersey, where Haast studied aviation mechanics, and was certified after four years. I came upon a reference to a varieth of the black racer that bears the name Coluber constrictor haasti. Mr Graves desperately tried to rescue his son but was unsuccessful. Haast retained custody of their son, Bill Jr. and continued to work as a mechanic for Pan Am while he built the Serpentarium. She had given me some information on the Serpentarium and I got interested in Indigo Snakes. Myles, Justin (Dec 2000/Jan 2001 Issue). The 35' cobra ended up on the roof (south side) of South Miami Senior High-my old high school-where it served proudly for many years. In 2002 a 23-year-old German tourist was killed in Kakadu National Park by a 15-foot, 1,100-pound (4.6-meter, 500-kilogram) saltwater crocodile when she disregarded warning signs and went for a . 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. Well, my mother went on a vacation to the Miami area. ''From the first day I walked into the Miami Serpentarium, I knew that was for me,'' he said. But Haast no longer can handle the forked-tongued killers that made him famous. 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. NEW Police have found evidence a 12-year-old was killed in a crocodile attack in northern Australia. They moved to Florida so that Haast could pursue his dream of opening a "snake farm". ''Failing at this is one of my biggest regrets,'' Haast said. Devastated villages shouted the name 'Dimas' in hope of the boy still being alive as the crocodile was hauled ashore. It was in 1960, I was in my junior year at San fernando Valley State college at Northridge ,California. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Haast eventually returned home, married and enrolled in airplane-mechanic school, but Florida called. 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. I grew up in Hialeah,snake hunting was one of the cool things we did back in the day.We'd ride our stingrays out to milam elementary w 16 ave and catch decays ,ring necks ,yellow rats ,red rats,garter snakes,blue racers.We'd ride are bikes accross the palmetto expressway and go into the woods behind the church caught an indigo there once ,it was laying accross a tree stump that was lucky back 1971.I was 12.It was 6ft long I feed it eggs ,raw chicken breast,a big toad once .It had bright red under the chin.Mr haast told me how to get the lice off it at his snake show.I called the serpentarium every so often to ask various questions on snakes.The guy on the phone was cool and calm he'd answer your questions politely it had to be Bill to us kids he was like superman.Saw his show 5 times.Man !that indigo Mrs haast had was really pretty ,my mom was talking about that snake at big family get together in wis. last new years.We sure are lucky we grew up their! Regarding Bill Haast's killing of Cookie the crocodile, bothe Bill Guest and jesse are wrong. Haast saw that a boy had fallen into the crocodile pit. On one trip, Dr. Haast was there, but not in his office or outside on the lawn as usual. ''I knew it was over then.'' 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. 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. Haast died June 15, 2011 at age 100. 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. He said his last snakebite, Number 173 suffered in 2003 -- courtesy of a Malaysian pit viper -- was the final blow to his hands, already mangled from years of enduring the nerve- and tissue-destroying poison that snakes spew when biting. As far as I recall, the Cobra on the roof was the one from the Serpentarium. I could see their fears fade as they got the nerve to touch a real snake and realize that is wasn't slimy. I cant imagine what those parents are going through. I was Bill's neighbor on the Serpentariums north side from about 1970 until the Village of Pinecrest purchased my land & building in 2000 ( The Carpet Mart ). Haast was born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1910. I was a nurse in the ICU at Variety Children's Hospital on at least three of Haast's admissions after snake bites. 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. 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. When he reached in to get it with his hook, he realized he had been had, then chose to play along and scare the audience who had already watched him take out a few deadly snakes from other boxes. After Bill sold the Serpentarium, our 12,000 sq.ft. 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. In the first chapter a bunch of young boys are headed to a swimming hole; one boy races ahead and dives in. 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. Haast caught his first snake at 7; his first serious bite was at 12. Lee Martines - Growing up in Miami in the 40s and 50s I would visit the Serpentarium every couple of years and always marveled at the variety of snakes and the process of extracting the venom from the poisonous ones. The incident comes after a four-year-old boy fell into the gorilla enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo last month. Disney has now closed all resort beaches out of an abundance of caution until further notice, a Disney spokesperson said Wednesday morning. Needless to say I was quite nervous also, thinking of what might happen if that snake went through the crowd. She would take some of her snakes to Bill Haast. David Mark Wasson was apparently sitting on top of the wall around the pit, dangling his feet during an inter mission between shows when he lost his balance, the authorities said. Across the street, a Haast lived in a nice house. I'll never forget this experience. The show was great. I remember him as a very genuine, nice man. I can't imagine more suitable place than South Florida for Bill Haas's Serpentarium. Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his wife and son. Sometime later when I visited again, I bought Cobras In His Garden, and Dr. Haast, recovering from that or another bite on his hand, left a blood smudge on my book while signing it . 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. I think one of the two men was Mr. Haast himself. An estimated 1,000 people every year are killed in crocodile attacks, many more than by sharks. 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. His contribution to antivenin science is unparalleled and earned him recognition throughout his life. We lived in Southern California. I remember a Coral snake bit and killed a man digging in his yard in Whispering Pines in 1965. In 1964, a book was written about him. I visited many times in the 60's - 70's. Authorities estimate there are between 1.3 million and 2 million alligators across the state. 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 would hide them in my tool box,'' he said. While there, he ended up rooming with a moonshiner on the edge of the Everglades, and became proficient at capturing all kinds of snakes. We watched the show (I don't remember if the presenter was Mr. Haast), and afterwards, Scot was encouraged to touch several snakes. Quite a memory! A 911 call was received at 9.16pm local time. It was intuitive. ``I can't complain. I remember in 3rd grade, back in 1960, one of my classmates dropped her purse into the crocodile pit. Is it the venom? 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. Haast added a snake exhibit to the business. After many years of being a Bill Haast fan, I was thrilled to be there. It stood almost eye level with Bill and lunged repeatedly as it advanced across the floor toward him. The last snake I had was a 12' burmese python that I owned a few years ago. I live in Sarasota now and totally enjoy the water, I think those times are responceable. IE 11 is not . Sincerely, an understanding and appreciative person! That was in 1971 and I kept that car until 3 years ago when I sold it for 35000.00 in pieces. 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 . Many times Haast donated his blood to be used in treating snake-bite victims when a suitable anti-venom was not available. A massive crocodile attacked and ate an 8-year-old girl while she was bathing in the river with friends. ''I hit him over the head, trying to get him to let go.'' Now 39, he is a member of the rescue department's anti-venin unit that rushes to inject those bitten by a poisonous snake. 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. Haast's second wife, Clarita, simply narrated, setting the mood for the audience. He was carrying a snake-bite kit, and had a friend inject him with antivenom; the bite hospitalized him for a week. Apparently the damaged tail had to be amputated afterwards. 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 Suddenly, he heard screaming and ran toward the commotion. ``If I live to be 100 I'll really make the point.'' Worst time of my life!!! 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. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. It was a close call, one that underscored the county's need for an antivenin bank, Cruz said. I feel sorry for the young generations that they will never get to see the true mastery of Bill Haast with his serpents. He purchased his first exotic snake, a diamondback rattler, from a catalog. boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium As soon as it was handed back to an embarassed little girl, one of the boys said, "Now you have to look and see if it punched your bus ticket!" But Jonas Salk produced a polio vaccine in April 1955, ending Haast's first effort to turn venom into a miracle drug. Bill Haast and a cobra at the Miami Serpentarium SW 128th Street and South Dixie Highway, Dade County, Florida Thank you to Alvin Lederer for contributing this old image. Haast eventually sold his family home to buy the land on South Dixie Highway where the Serpentarium would rise. I don't remember which one was the infamous "Cookie". 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. I remember seeing an alligator gulping down whole chickens and being allowed to handle an Indigo snake after Mr. Haast's presentation. We had an African Ball Python that had stopped eating, and I remember bringing it with my father to have it fed. I was fascinated watching them put Mr Haast's feeding tube down and feed the snake. Jim F. Thank you for bringing back many many wonderful memories. After his wife became pregnant, Haast lost his job when the speakeasy he was working at was raided by IRS agents. "We can't be here, because we spend every time remembering how nice it was to have him here with us. I stood, many times, on the grass in the little circle just feet from the Cobra at milking time. I am so glad to have found this site. We had a large clump of banana trees in our back yard, & she had called Mr. Haast to tell him that there was a coral snake down in the undergrowth of it, & could he please come & remove it? The hotel is an upscale luxury resort owned by Disney and is one of three hotels on the monorail line. When the show headed to Florida, Haast convinced his parents to let him go. To this day it is one of our most treasured possesions. 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 took a group of people to get . The resorts beach pool is next to the lake and overlooks the Seven Seas Lagoon. Supposedly, this Timacuan sub-species and the nearby Mexican Bush Master are the largest poisonous snakes in the world and Bill Hass had both of them in his World famous Serpentarium. 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. And a bit crazy. Cookie broke free and took the boy underwater. We looked out and could see both Bill and Nancy peeking out from their office with a big grin! "And in the end the research could take care of itself.". Haast jumped down into the pit. There was something unique and special about living old Miami, Its individuals like Bill and The Serpentarium that paved Miami's history in a way like no other place in the world. A witness told a journalist at the Orlando Sentinel they reported a sighting of an alligator to police prior to the attack on the toddler, but Sheriff Demings said he was unaware of the report. It is one stop from the Magic Kingdom Park and the Seven Seas Lagoon is popular with water lovers and boating enthusiasts. 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? He loved his animals and was deeply committed to bringing them to the world in an educated, and respectful manner. "I just have a curious nature," he said. But he still wakes up each morning to turn snake venom from across the globe into freeze-dried powder for medical laboratories. In the summer of 1972 I was bitten by a pygmy rattle snake in the middle of a subdivision in south Miami. #BreakingNews #Orlando pic.twitter.com/8AUeiXdmBk, Search crews at Grand Floridian Beach pic.twitter.com/wTCsxsJwNO, Search party is growing pic.twitter.com/AwpHtHwgXy. But there is no reason to visit Miami. Jaws dropped. . 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. "Any time I saw an unusual snake I brought it back," Haast said, sitting on cushioned patio furniture. The incident left Bill Haast badly shaken. Two men came to our house, & they had a hook on the end of a pole, & a cloth bag, & they soon had the brightly colored but deadly snake in tow. I always told people I'd live past 100, and I still feel I will. Nice to see the photos again. Finding this site reminds me what saints my parents were! He agreed to chat only by telephone with a Miami Herald reporter. Ricky Ganya was last seen collecting snails on a riverbank in Kuching, Malaysia, I well remember Bill Haast and his snake "milking" shows. When my family came to Miami in1961, they left me in Lakeland, Florida with my aunt and uncle, who happened to be an avid hunter/fisherman. I was 16 yrs.old and going outside at night with no shoes on and stepped on the snake in the dark. As a girl in the early 60's, I lived down the block from Dr Haast and his family. ", By his 95th birthday, he was a bit of a recluse. For years, Haast tried to prove that venom could treat multiple sclerosis, lupus, arthritis and Parkinson's disease. His grey pleated linen trowsers were pressed and as spotless as his egyptian cotton White shirt, topped with a most stunning Pith Helment. 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. Voted for the photo and the biographical info. Tragically, a 6-year-old boy fell in and died in 1977. He suddenly dropped his hook and reached in with his hand, and grabbed it then swung it over the heads of the audience. Like I said, we were always grabbing any snakes we came across, and one day finally got a Moccasin. "Not to mention pretty damn smart. Earlier on Wednesday, Orlando authorities told reporters there was no question that the young boy was dead. My uncle made a point to tell me to look up this site. Palm vipers. One particular snake that I remember from my childhood visits to the Serpentarium was a big, oversized Florida Eastern Diamond Back rattlesnake. 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. Hi, my uncle Ted Kundtz just passed away a few months ago and he told me that he had helped out Mr. Haast when he was younger. In 1949, he began supplying venom to a medical researcher at the University of Miami for experiments in the treatment of polio. Miami's independent source of The attack happened on Friday, Dec. 11 during the afternoon in Borneo, Malaysia. C.C. I saw so many people face their phobias of snakes and actually touch one for the first time. My parents stayed at the motel pool, while I was the first one thru the door at the Serpentarium that day. CAKEGATE 2023: Bad Bunny's Restaurant Accused of Gobbling Birthday Girl's Cake, Death Train: A Timeline of Brightline Fatalities in South Florida UPDATED, Neighborhood Nazi Jon Minadeo Peddles Hate by the Minute, Sen. Rubio's Permanent Daylight Savings Bill Sees Light of Day Once More, NFL Legend Ray Lewis Joins World Jai-Alai League Board of Directors, Affordable New "Micro-Units" Slated for Little River, Edgewater. 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. 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?) I recently saw Mr. Hasst on wild kingdon with Jack Hanna (aired 1997 maybe). Access from your Country was disabled by the administrator. . I lived across South Dixie Highway from the Miami Serpentarium. But he felt he couldn't continue to feed the crocodile and display him under these conditions.. My heart is shattered. 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 received his first cobra bite less than a year after he started his immunization program. But the reptile managed to crawl away into a moat in the 50foot square pit, dragging the child with him. Haast and his teenage son, Bill Jr., began constructing snake pits, the beginning of the Serpentarium. One day I noticed his handshis fingersthey were deformend, mangled, sort of like a something from an old horror moviea result--one of many, of having been bitten by so many venomous snakesI think his own blood was an anti-venom, as a result of being bitten so much, I think he used to distribute this "antivenom (his blood)worldwide to snakebite vicims. The boy and his father, David Wasson, 42, were throwing grapes at the crocodile, hoping to see it move, when the boy slipped off a retaining wall on which he had been sitting and fell into the crocodile pit. I introduced myself and got my wife and kids to meet him too. Luckily though, I see from visiting one of the links that there is an attraction to view snake milking in St. The Reptile Centre in Northampton, England, declared him "an inspirational man within the world of reptiles." In the late 40's and early 50's I lived in Marathon on the Keys. Haast still grows somber when retelling the story: It was a Sunday. However, we kept them because they made good pets. Im just here to say a prayer, he said. In an enclosure) his parents should have supervised him much better. The last time I saw him he told me never to get bit again and offered me a job. He had a clinic called St. Jude Clinic on SW 8 Street. PARROT JUNGLE, MONKEY JUNGLE, SEAQUARIUM, ETC. I . My Dad would take me there often, we lived in South Miami (as I do againlong story). 2010s. Behind him rose an 8-foot concrete cobra statue that once decorated the serpentarium. 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. 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.