I still have his autograph and some great snapshots of that meet & greet. Worst time of my life!!! I worked at the Serpentarium for roughly a year, about two years before it closed. 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. I will ask him to sign a copy and send it to you and your brother." 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. We visited the Serp many times as a family visiting from Illinois and I have an autographed copy of Cobras In His Garden along with several movies that I gotta get moved over to DVD's.. Doc always took time to shake hands or pose for a picturetime that in retrospect I know he didn't really have to give, but he always did. ''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. Staff at the resort were unwilling to comment on the incident. We took 3-4 water snakes there that closely resembled the deadly Water Moccasin, only to be turned away penniless. PARROT JUNGLE, MONKEY JUNGLE, SEAQUARIUM, ETC. [4] As of 2008 he continued to have his wife inject him with small amounts of snake venom. After leaving Miami for the Air Force and then marriage, my bride and I returned to the Central East Coast of Florida to live, and on a trip to the Keys, I just had to take my new bride to show her Bill Haast's work. The Serpenlarium, widely known as a research fadlity as well as a zoo for snakes and reptiles, remained closed indefinitely while Mr. Haast and his Wife discussed what additional safety precautions to take. Smocks. ``If I live to be 100 I'll really make the point.'' Every so often the evening news would announce "Bill Haast had been bitten by a poisonous snake AGAIN." The night of the accident, he took his Luger, walked out to the pit and shot Cookie in the head. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, population growth and increasing participation in water-related activities are resulting in more frequent alligator-human interactions. FOR THE MIAMI HERALD King cobras. Thank you for reminding me about this incredible man. 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. It taught me an important life lessons about fearto just face fears because most of the time our anxiety really isn't worth it. 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. I came upon a reference to a varieth of the black racer that bears the name Coluber constrictor haasti. The cheerleaders and marching band of South Miami High, home of the Cobras, screamed and pounded their feet. Sometimes, you feel useless. He would shove the snake's fangs into the top of a vial and watch the venom trickle down. Among them a zoo director from Des Moines, a local construction worker and a Venezuelan father. Thanks Bill for the show and GOD bless. it stirred interest faster than the key lime pie and local jelly signs. At the time of the TV airing Mr. Haast was 87 years old and quite handsome he looked no older that early 50s. Set in the American South in the 20th century. The original cobra was a metal structure that was twisted into oblivion by a rare tornado in the late 50's or early 60's. In his heyday, he was flown around the world to hospitals where people bitten by rare snakes would have died without his blood. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. on. I couldn't take the anti-venom so Dr. Haast instructed the hospital on how to treat 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. When she got in the car she said she had a suprise for me. Needless to say I was quite nervous also, thinking of what might happen if that snake went through the crowd. They considered him a glorified snake-handler, a showman, a medicine man. My father grew up and was born in Paterson, as well. 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. More animals than anyone I ever knew, and of every variety. On the 2nd trip, an entire day was planned for me there. I was probably the first Bill Haast copycat and started self-immunizing with various snake venoms over here in London since the age of twenty. Haast eventually returned home, where his mother had leased a concession stand at a lakeside resort. 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. For some in Miami, though, the whole debate has stirred up painful memories of another tragic incident. Sheriff Demings confirmed there was a sign near the water warning people not to swim. Thank you Diana, and all the other folks who have posted, for posting your personal memories of Bill Haast and your insights that the general public would never know about if you hadn't written in. People were lining up for a show. 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. Nonetheless, the boy, who was battered and submerged, was killed. 2, my first Indigo. At 19, he got a job with a roadside snake attraction. In 1984, Haast, who is said to have never fully recovered from the . 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. ''I hit him over the head, trying to get him to let go.'' Today, Van Horn owns Reptile World Serpentarium near St. That might have occurred, since some recent field guides I have examined do not include haasti. One particular snake that I remember from my childhood visits to the Serpentarium was a big, oversized Florida Eastern Diamond Back rattlesnake. It stood almost eye level with Bill and lunged repeatedly as it advanced across the floor toward him. My parents stayed at the motel pool, while I was the first one thru the door at the Serpentarium that day. Cloud, Florida and it just so happens that my dad lives there now. There's a picture of me and an indigo snake, probably nearly as long as I was tall. I recently saw Mr. Hasst on wild kingdon with Jack Hanna (aired 1997 maybe). When I was a little girl, we lived in Kendall. 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? 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. These Valuable Pennies Are Worth Thousands. Bill and Nanvy were the guest attraction and Bill has with them a 12' hamadrayad, (King Cobra) which was un a 4x4x8 gkass fronted cage identical to that in which the sidewinders were displayed. He is truely an extraordinary man. The animal was of no harm to anyone other than the fool who would allow his self to fall in. Originally, the shots immunized Haast against snake bites, an occupational hazard. Haast was born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1910. "Miami was in Bill's heart to the end," his widow said. I don't remember which one was the infamous "Cookie". Airports to Fly Out of, Humane Society of Broward County Kicks Off VCA Walk for the Animals in Fort Lauderdale, She Was Loved': Family Speaks Out After Driver Arrested in Margate Crash That Killed Mother, Hospitalized Child, Miami-Dade Mayor, State Attorney Announce New Measures to Protect HOA Residents, From Haiti Through Liberty City to Top Federal Prosecutor in South Florida: the Unlikely Story of Markenzy Lapointe, Check Your Change! 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. Sheriff Demings said police had not received any recent reports or complaints about nuisance alligators but authorities will conduct further investigations. Suddenly, he heard screaming and ran toward the commotion. From The Miami Herald, August 3, 2006 FLASHBACK | THE MIAMI SERPENTARIUM 'Miami snakeman' is 95 and still injects himself with venom BY LUISA YANEZ lyanez@MiamiHerald.com IN PUNTA GORDA: Bill Hasst sold his Miami Serpentarium site in Pinecrest in 1984, and settled in southwest Florida. (and I have literally been attacked by a shark, which resulted in 30 days in the hospital, and losing half a lung) My point? What a rush. Nya used to take us after hours to the Serpentariumm to watch her Dad and his workers feed the animals. It was damaged by a hurricane in 2005 and they just built a new one. . He was a local celebrity known for something really worthwhile (unlike so many celebrities nowadays). The incident left Bill Haast badly shaken. It's a shame that everything is gone now. The Reptile Centre in Northampton, England, declared him "an inspirational man within the world of reptiles." He bought a plot of land facing U.S. 1, south of Miami, then sold his house and started construction on the Serpentarium. And we often talked of many things when she came in to South Dixie Amoco to have the well-maintained car serviced. 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. Flores said it has been very difficult for the family, adding: 'It is impossible to continue living in Matina because in every corner of the house we find something that reminds us of Julito, that causes us a lot of pain. . "We know that there are crocodiles and burrows, but we don't have a notion or a pattern to work on.". When you left his exhibit, you loved the snakes, and I hasve never been afraid of them for the rest of my life. He's truly an amazing man who has lived a life of exemplary devotion to his work. It was a rattle snake. I wish you could have seen that crowd move as that snake reared itself and advanced toward Bill as it poured itself onto the concrete floor. Icon: Bill Haast. Back in the 1980's, I lived in the Pepperwood S/D (about one block south of Kendell Drive, just west of Palmetto Expy). He introduced himself as Col. Spencer, I introduced myself as "I'm Mark and could my brother Dick come too?" But he felt he couldn't continue to feed the crocodile and display him under these conditions.. "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. Most of the family agreed it was better than any other stops we made, including the newly opened Disney World. As time went on, I read about Bill now and then, such as when he was bitten by the Gaboon viper in the 1970s, and a few other dangerous ones. "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. During this time Haast met and married his second wife, Clarita Matthews. 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". Thanks for the wonderful memories and great work you have done. But Haast had detractors. CANCUN -- A 12-year-old boy who was bitten by a crocodile at a Mexican resort spoke to "Good Morning America" on Wednesday in his first television interview. I would see him periodically. As people gathered close Bill unlatched the door on the end of the cage. Sheriff Demings said this type of thing had never happened before in Disneys 45 years of operations. 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. 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. [8], Haast closed the Serpentarium in 1984, and moved to Utah for a few years. 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. As my mother was paying our admission, a worker rushed over to tell us that we were going to miss the King cobra show. Police said witnesses described the alligator as being between 1.2 and 2.1 metres long. STAFF PHOTO / ED PFUELLER Order photo Bill Haast, center, is recognized by members of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Unit for his work helping snake-bite victims. I remember visiting the Serpentarium on a school field trip when I was in kindergarten, in 1971. And in July, a woman in Florida died after she fell into a pond and was attacked by two alligators. Haast caught his first snake at 7; his first serious bite was at 12. Today, a McDonald's and a shopping center sit where the Serpentarium once thrilled. ''From the first day I walked into the Miami Serpentarium, I knew that was for me,'' he said. Is bitten by dozens of water moccasins and dies. On March 15, 2009, 11-year-old Briony Goodsell was killed by a crocodile when swimming with friends at Lambell's Lagoon near Humpty Doo in Northern Territory. The boy's body has still not been found, and emergency services have run into difficulty with their search in recent days due to heavy rain. Just heard the mother grieving her baby. 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 by | Jun 10, 2022 | flying saucer bar locations | metro flexline service manual | Jun 10, 2022 | flying saucer bar locations | metro flexline service manual A 20.2-foot (6.17-metre) saltwater crocodile, believed to be the largest ever captured, was trapped in the southern Philippines after a spate of fatal attacks. local news and culture. [3] Haast extracted venom from venomous snakes from the time he was a boy. In 1954 Haast was bitten by a common, or blue, krait. 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. I got excited thinking it was a new toy. He was a great neighborhhod Dad, and I will always remember the fun we had with he, his wife and his children. killed David Mark Wasson of West Palm Beach, Fla. That was in 1971 and I kept that car until 3 years ago when I sold it for 35000.00 in pieces. 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. I have such respect for Mr. Haast and for all of his work. 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. 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. 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. Sad to say, a passerby noticed that the snake was poisonous and killed it before we could take it to the Serpentarium to get paid for all our efforts. ''I could become a poster boy for the benefits of venom,'' Haast jokes. haasti is different from the parent species only by virtue of an unusual configuration of white coloration on the head and chin. Five alligators have already been caught in the lagoon and euthanised for analysis. 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. Even though this article is of the Snakeman as we called him I want to comment a special person. There were eyewitnesses here who certainly saw the child taken under the water, Sheriff Demings said. I am so glad to have found this site. EARLY START The story of how Haast made his way to Florida has a certain Huck Finn appeal. When I was a small boy of 8-9 years old in the mid sixties, a distinguished gentleman would walk by our house in the early morning like clockwork. Hanley "Doc" Harding, Aurora Protection Specialists. As a kid, it was a thrill to see the man himself up close. But none the less just because Mr. Hass felt bad about what happened he, Haas, shot the alligator for no reason. We donated it to the serpentarium. WHEN WE WENT TO THE SERPENTARIUM, WE WERE IN THE CROWD WITH MOSTLY OUT OF TOWNERS. For the first five years Bill, Clarita, and his son were the only staff. According to eyewitnesses, the toddlers mother, Ms Graves, was playing with him at the time and also dived into the water. But the reptile managed to crawl away into a moat in the 50foot square pit, dragging the child with him. ( Because they wouldn't let me move here by myself.) Tonight at Walt Disney's Grand Floridian Hotel crews search Seven Seas Lagoon for possible alligator attack victim pic.twitter.com/lVSOxivh05. To this day it is one of our most treasured possesions. It was not that far from us and yet we were not fearful. But I still think he should not have shot that alligator. Well I then came to his web site to find out how old Mr. Haast is today or if he is still alive. His first king cobra bite was in 1962. Behind him rose an 8-foot concrete cobra statue that once decorated the serpentarium. Haast added a snake exhibit to the business. He started extracting venom from his snakes when he was 15 years old, and dropped out of school when he was 16 years old. THRIVING BUSINESS Despite the medical debacles, the Serpentarium continued to flourish. Haast really wanted to find the cure or treatment for polio and feels he came close. He later received commendations from President Gerald Ford and Miami Mayor Stephen Clark. ''I can no longer open my hands wide or make a fist,'' Haast explained. The attackers included cobras, a krait, green mambas, a pygmy rattlesnake, a European asp and a palm viper. The boy's father and uncle jumped into the ?it and tried to pry open the crocodile's mouth. It was a very low wall. Myles, Justin (Dec 2000/Jan 2001 Issue). 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. So, on a trip to visit my parents in Miami, when Scot was two (1977), we took him to the Miami Serpentarium. 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? With his certification, he moved to Miami to work for Pan American World Airways. An eight-year-old boy in Costa Rica was brutally dragged underwater and mauled to death by a crocodile in front of his horrified parents. "He was a really nice man with a big heart," said his grand-niece Michelle Haast of Miami. A small alligator, maybe 5 foot with tail had gotten loose and was wandering. 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. While the rest of the crew was out having fun in the exotic locales, he bought exotic snakes. Whenever we remember what happened, it is impossible not to shed tears.". Newsweek has contacted crocodile experts for comment. "One hypothesis is that the animal took the child to the burrow or cave, and there are burrows and caves, but we don't know which one of them it is. It took a group of people to get . It was in 1960, I was in my junior year at San fernando Valley State college at Northridge ,California. 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. Lots of people like me. In 1982 when I was twelve I moved from England to Hollywood, Fl with my family. For years, Haast tried to prove that venom could treat multiple sclerosis, lupus, arthritis and Parkinson's disease. Keepers were forced to shoot and kill the 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe. 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! His cane was an exotic mixture of ebony and ivory. So long Mr. Haast, you were a great man. 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. Then years later I lived in Punta Gorda on Washington Loop, when Bill Haast moved there. Great memories. Several people on social media said the child was on the beach at the time watching a movie. By the mid-1960s he was putting on five shows a day, dressed in a white lab coat, extracting venom to sell for scientific experimentation. Today, out of print, it's coveted by collectors and sells on eBay for more than $100, a testament to Haast's popularity. 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.. That was South Dade, Florida, relatively free of the most venomous snakes because Bill Hass and the Serpentarium. Turns out that I was talking to Bill Hast. In North Carolina, a chemist offered this salute: "Resssssssst in Peace Bill Haast.". We considered him the Patron Saint of Junkies in those days. I'm recommending this site to my grandson, Piers and now that I'm a snowbird residing in Ft. Myers part time, I'll keep watching for news of your 100th birthday party! Unless otherwise noted under the right bottom of the photo, all images are copyrighted by Don Boyd, Bill Haast and the Miami Serpentarium - recent news articles, SW 128th Street and South Dixie Highway, Dade County, Memories of Old Hialeah, Old Miami and Old South Florida Photo Galleries - largest non-Facebook collection on the internet, Miami Area Tourist and Local ATTRACTIONS Historical Photos Gallery - All Years - click on image to view. Four years ago, I got bit by a Malaysian pit viper, and that was the end of my right . "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. The whole experience seemed to do the trick, as he never displayed such fear of snakes again after that. These flights took him to South America, Africa and India, where he bought snakes to bring back to America, including his first cobra. CANCUN -- A 12-year-old boy who was bitten by a crocodile at a Mexican resort spoke to "Good Morning America" on Wednesday in his first television interview. Res My uncle made a point to tell me to look up this site. 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. As a young teenager in the mid 1960's I was very interested in all types of reptiles. I notified the person at the gate and soon Mr. Haast himself came out, grabbed the gator, and put him back in the pit. 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. Art Levy | 8/1/2008. In the past week, The Voice singer Christina Grimmie was shot dead and 49 people were also killed in Orlandos Pulse nightclub by gunman Omar Mateen in a terror attack. Florida is renowned for having more alligators than any other US state. Im just here to say a prayer, he said. Now, he believes, the long-term benefits of the shots have spared him from many of the maladies of old age. Inside, the snake shows were pure drama with no frills, no fanfare, no drum roll, no silence please, no ladies and gentleman. He suddenly dropped his hook and reached in with his hand, and grabbed it then swung it over the heads of the audience. 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. 12-foot crocodile . While on my honeymmon in Orlando we rode down to Miami to the Serpentarium and watched Bill milk some snakes.
