America is still arguing today about whether the Cincinnati Zoo should have shot and killed Harambe, a 17-year-old male, Become a member to support the independent voice of South 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 was a nurse in the ICU at Variety Children's Hospital on at least three of Haast's admissions after snake bites. When she got in the car she said she had a suprise for me. 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. 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. Bill is a true forward thinker and an inspiration to all herpetologists. 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. Its very surprising, its an extremely rare occurrence in anywhere you have alligators, but we do ask people to be mindful that we do have alligators in the water in Florida and you have to be careful, Mr Wiley said. He closed up the business in 1984, moved to Utah for a few years but returned to Florida in 1990, and settled in a Punta Gorda ranch with Nancy, his third wife, and some 400 snakes that supplied his Miami Serpentarium Laboratories. Legend has it that the Timacuan indians who lived there before the European settlers arrived, revered these snakes as Gods. Dr. Ben Sheppard mentioned in the article helped me with my drug addiction in 1974. He always survived and promoted his anti-snake venom that saved many other lives. The attraction had a gift shop, 400-pound turtles, a 20-foot-long python. We ran it over, and with a little coaxing, I convinced the driver to return. Disney has now closed all resort beaches out of an abundance of caution until further notice, a Disney spokesperson said Wednesday morning. boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium. As people gathered close Bill unlatched the door on the end of the cage. 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," he said, "that's why I'm talking to you.". It was 1929. The couple moved back to New Jersey, where Haast studied aviation mechanics, and was certified after four years. The attack happened on Friday, Dec. 11 during the afternoon in Borneo, Malaysia. Shaman Killed by Crocodile Horror Stories 812K subscribers Subscribe 27K Save 741K views 3 years ago Notice Age-restricted video (based on Community Guidelines) Almost yours: 2 weeks, on us. Crowds cheered as he collected venom from the snakes in dramatic displays. FOR THE MIAMI HERALD King cobras. WHEN WE WENT TO THE SERPENTARIUM, WE WERE IN THE CROWD WITH MOSTLY OUT OF TOWNERS. I can't imagine more suitable place than South Florida for Bill Haas's Serpentarium. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings confirmed that the toddlers body was found in the water about 3.30pm, local time, after more than 15 hours of searching the Seven Seas Lagoon in Orlando, Florida. He said the body was found completely intact near the attack site, leading authorities to believe the alligator drowned the toddler. 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. I saw the "catch and milk" demos and was fascinated. I believe that it was one of the great thrills of my life. It is one stop from the Magic Kingdom Park and the Seven Seas Lagoon is popular with water lovers and boating enthusiasts. I grew up in North Miami Beach and remember going to the Serpentarium many times, but my favorites were Sundays when the King Cobra came out. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Florida is renowned for having more alligators than any other US state. In October, a man fought a crocodile with a knife while it held his friend's head in its jaws. 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 remember a Coral snake bit and killed a man digging in his yard in Whispering Pines in 1965. 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. Thank you for reminding me about this incredible man. And I still do as if it happened yesterday. Haast killed the croc the next day. I hope you live to 100 to prove snake venon is an anti aging wonder. There were eyewitnesses here who certainly saw the child taken under the water, Sheriff Demings said. But I still think he should not have shot that alligator. I was 16 yrs.old and going outside at night with no shoes on and stepped on the snake in the dark. He could not have been nicer to us and spent some time talking to us. BILL TOLD THE CROWD NOT TO WORRY, "IT'S ONLY CALCIUM". 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. ABOUT 1975 OR SO, I TOOK MY FAMILY ON VACATION TO SEE ALL THE SIGHTS MIAMI HAD TO OFFER INSTEAD OF LEAVING TOWN AS WE ALWAYS DID. "It was his adopted city. In 1964, a book was written about him. During the 1950s, he was bitten by cobras about twenty times. They paid my mother something like $10 or more for the snake. Haast died June 15, 2011 at age 100. There he met and eloped with his first wife, Ann. I didn't know what to do with it, so I call the Miami Serpentarium. It was the story of Bill's adventure with the blue krait bite. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. It stood almost eye level with Bill and lunged repeatedly as it advanced across the floor toward him. Now the spotlight is on three other deaths that are linked to the case. i would love to read a biography on bill haast or should we say DR.HAAST? Katherine White Popp, whose room is directly outside where the child was taken, said she overheard the mothers screams. She had given me some information on the Serpentarium and I got interested in Indigo Snakes. How lucky were we that we had this place? A crocodile mauled and killed an 8-year-old boy near his home in Malaysia. At 19, he got a job with a roadside snake attraction. We watched the show (I don't remember if the presenter was Mr. Haast), and afterwards, Scot was encouraged to touch several snakes. Haast routinely injected himself with venom to build up resistance to the ill effects of the inevitable bites. After many years of being a Bill Haast fan, I was thrilled to be there. As my mother was paying our admission, a worker rushed over to tell us that we were going to miss the King cobra show. Sometimes, you feel useless. Haast caught his first snake at 7; his first serious bite was at 12. Haast added a snake exhibit to the business. "We can't be here, because we spend every time remembering how nice it was to have him here with us. He was born in 1910 in Paterson, N.J., to German-American parents -- his father was a mechanic, his mom a housewife. 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. In an enclosure) his parents should have supervised him much better. All times AEDT (GMT +11). He was a great neighborhhod Dad, and I will always remember the fun we had with he, his wife and his children. I couldn't take the anti-venom so Dr. Haast instructed the hospital on how to treat me. 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. 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. The year was 1977 when a young boy tumbled into an enclosure at the Miami. Funny thing is, he had different ideas about that. 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. 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. The boy was swimming in a river with a friend on Thursday when the incident occurred. 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. Two-year-old Lane Thomas Graves had been playing in . In 1965, Cobras in his Garden, a book about Haast's exploits, was published. 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. We got a motel room across the road from the Serpentarium. Responders at Disney World searching for boy who was dragged into a lagoon by an alligator. I knocked and went in. Mr. Hasst brought out a huge 16 foot long King Cobra and kept it controlled on the lawn in front of us. Haast maintained a similar bank in Miami when he ran the Serpentarium theme park, which closed in 1984. But his wife said that the crocodile, named Cookie, was killed and buried in the same pit where it. My heart is shattered. 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. It was July, 1972, and my family was making our first visit to the Serpentarium. ''From the first day I walked into the Miami Serpentarium, I knew that was for me,'' he said. 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. While there, he ended up rooming with a moonshiner on the edge of the Everglades, and became proficient at capturing all kinds of snakes. I am so glad to have found this site. A crocodile takes rest by the water at the Yala National Park in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on August 21, 2022. He soon learned how to handle the snakes and found one timber rattler so easy to handle that he posed for a photograph with the snake lying across his lap. Furthermore, you shouldn't speak about how a parent should have kept a better eye on their dead son. Cruz called Haast after a man was bitten by a Black Mamba, one of the most poisonous snakes of Africa. Inside the bag was a cardboard box with holes in 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. By 1965 the Serpentarium housed more than 500 snakes in 400 cages and three pits in the courtyard. It is unknown whether the signs mentioned anything about alligators crawling in the waters. A doctor at the hospital where the boy, was taken said the child was practically dead on arrival from drowning in association with multiple traumatic injuries., See the article in its original context from. At the same time his work saved dozens of lives. Well he is alive and well at the age of 97or 98 and still apparently working with snakes; he said he felt there would come a time when he would not be able work with them but I guest he still is. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Even though the Serpentarium was there, some people still got bitten, and died from the poisonous snakes. ( Because they wouldn't let me move here by myself.) His grey pleated linen trowsers were pressed and as spotless as his egyptian cotton White shirt, topped with a most stunning Pith Helment. On Thursday, members of the rescue unit came to shake Haast's hand. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. It was'nt the aninmal's fault that boy fell into the pit (the alligator was where he was suppose to be. "I am not going to stay here, because just as they protect those animals, they are capable of leaving the river to attack more people and the truth is that it is scary that something like this will happen again. boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium. His cane was an exotic mixture of ebony and ivory. The injections are a routine he began in 1948 -- the year he opened the Serpentarium -- and continued after he closed it in 1984. The whole experience seemed to do the trick, as he never displayed such fear of snakes again after that. After Bill sold the Serpentarium, our 12,000 sq.ft. I followed his instructions and he was right. In 2018, Indonesian villagers armed with knives, hammers and clubs slaughtered 292 crocodiles in revenge for the death of a man killed by a crocodile at a breeding farm, Reuters reported. An estimated 1,000 people every year are killed in crocodile attacks, many more than by sharks. Julio. And in July, a woman in Florida died after she fell into a pond and was attacked by two alligators. I have Ophidiophobia (not herpetophobia the fear of reptiles) a true fear of snakes. PARROT JUNGLE, MONKEY JUNGLE, SEAQUARIUM, ETC. The last snake I had was a 12' burmese python that I owned a few years ago. I think that this Dr., was loved by thousands of Miamians, because of him lives are save. In 1982 when I was twelve I moved from England to Hollywood, Fl with my family. Thanks for the wonderful memories and great work you have done. Haast eventually returned home, where his mother had leased a concession stand at a lakeside resort. A crocodile seized a 5-year-old boy and dragged him into a river in western Mexico as his parents watched, according to authorities who said the child's body was found Thursday. Mr Haast came out at my parents request after thrilling us with a great show. "I could become a poster boy for the benefits of venom," Haast boasted. LIVES SAVED But if a life was lost at the Serpentarium, Haast wants it known that transfusions from his immunized blood to snake victims helped save 21 lives. 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. Since the county revived the antivenin bank in 1998, it has saved 1,000 snake-bite victims, Seigert said. He didn't do it out of anger because the crocodile was just doing what comes naturally to him, Clarita Haast said. It was damaged by a hurricane in 2005 and they just built a new one. 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.