As a joke on him, a staff member placed a rubber snake into one of the boxes that normally held a venomous snake for the show. It stood almost eye level with Bill and lunged repeatedly as it advanced across the floor toward him. The whole experience seemed to do the trick, as he never displayed such fear of snakes again after that. Now if I can find out more about The Colonel? On November 3, a man was dragged underwater by a crocodile while swimming in the Kali River, in India's Uttara Kannada district, Newsroom Odisha reported. "It was his adopted city. I'd rather go back in the ocean than back to the Serpentarium! Mr. Hasst brought out a huge 16 foot long King Cobra and kept it controlled on the lawn in front of us. He was born in 1910 in Paterson, N.J., to German-American parents -- his father was a mechanic, his mom a housewife. 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 will enjoy looking over this site over time. Quite a memory! He gathered 400 cobras and took his findings to a University of Miami researcher. At the same time his work saved dozens of lives. 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. "We know that there are crocodiles and burrows, but we don't have a notion or a pattern to work on.". But its very rare and it really is a shock to us to see this happen.. Also wonder if that huge Cobra statue is still on the property..and still scary as hell!!!!!!!!! His wife Ann did not approve, and they eventually divorced. Another interesting attraction there were the large Galopagas turtles he had. On two trips to Florida in the late 60s, my parents took me to The Serpentarium. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. The experiments gave encouraging results, but were still in preliminary clinical trials when the Salk polio vaccine was released in 1955. Even though the Serpentarium was there, some people still got bitten, and died from the poisonous snakes. 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. Haast was born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1910. Dogs, birds, skunks (if I remember correctly) and of course reptiles. Still remember running a service call on a friday night for a NO COOLto be met by a Llama (male) at the entry gate who put his massive head through my truck window and pinned me against my seat..Nancy told me he liked me but to come back because she was delivering a Llama "cria". I lived across South Dixie Highway from the Miami Serpentarium. REMAINS of a fourteen-year-old boy have been pulled from inside a crocodile's belly after he was eaten alive. Although Haast did not have antivenin for that snake, he knew a collector who did and who provided the 15 vials of antivenin that saved the victim's life. There's a picture of me and an indigo snake, probably nearly as long as I was tall. As my mother was paying our admission, a worker rushed over to tell us that we were going to miss the King cobra show. 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. I can't imagine more suitable place than South Florida for Bill Haas's Serpentarium. 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 middle and dragged him to his death in a small lagoon. "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. How did he get them through Customs? Our carpet showroom and warehaouse was open on Monday & Friday nights and some very strange noises were heard at night as you would walk through the warehouse. For years, Haast tried to prove that venom could treat multiple sclerosis, lupus, arthritis and Parkinson's disease. All he did was yell ouch and that concludes the show for today. The incident comes after a four-year-old boy fell into the gorilla enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo last month. This time it came out! I am now 42 years with a very youthful appearance and in excellent health! Authorities said the boy, who fell about three metres, was expected to recover after being picked up and dragged by Harambe for about 10 minutes. The injections are a routine he began in 1948 -- the year he opened the Serpentarium -- and continued after he closed it in 1984. I took care of Clarita Haast's original Continental Mark. 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. In 1965, Cobras in his Garden, a book about Haast's exploits, was published. Thanks again Bill.. He briefly lived in Utah and returned to Florida to live in Charlotte County 18 years ago. He was able to identify the type of snake that bit me by the bite marks. Regarding Bill Haast's killing of Cookie the crocodile, bothe Bill Guest and jesse are wrong. I never forgot Mr. Haast and his snakes, and, to this day, I am not scared of snakes or any other animals. His hands are gnarled and deadened, some fingers hang immobile, some look stunted in growth, and a pinky and index finger have been amputated at the knuckle, photographs taken by his wife reveal. My Dad would take me there often, we lived in South Miami (as I do againlong story). [9] In an August 2008 Florida Trend interview, he stated, "Aging is hard. Bill Jr. eventually left, having lost interest in snakes, but not before he had been bitten four times by venomous snakes. He suddenly dropped his hook and reached in with his hand, and grabbed it then swung it over the heads of the audience. "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. We had an African Ball Python that had stopped eating, and I remember bringing it with my father to have it fed. Haast's mental trauma over the boy's death eventually led to the closure of the Serpentarium on South Dixie Highway. Sometimes, you feel useless. ``If I live to be 100 I'll really make the point.'' People were always getting bitten, but they are so small that they rarely killed anyone. Thanks for jogging my memory. It was'nt the aninmal's fault that boy fell into the pit (the alligator was where he was suppose to be. However, we kept them because they made good pets. The giant concrete-and-stucco cobra was donated to South Miami Senior High but fell apart during its move to the school. Haast maintained a similar bank in Miami when he ran the Serpentarium theme park, which closed in 1984. May he live far past the hundreds. It was a close call, one that underscored the county's need for an antivenin bank, Cruz said. Luckily though, I see from visiting one of the links that there is an attraction to view snake milking in St. . I remember one time that one got the better of him and bit him in the neck. 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. The concrete & stucco cobra was the second icon of the Serpentarium. American Model Killed By Crocodile In Australia - YouTube 0:00 / 1:46 American Model Killed By Crocodile In Australia Strange Deranged Unexplained 1.08K subscribers 743 80K views 11. Soon after opening the Serpentarium, Haast began experimenting with building up an acquired immunity to the venom of King, Indian and Cape cobras by injecting himself with gradually increasing quantities of venom he had extracted from his snakes, a practice called mithridatism. We finally found them on the bottom of my feet. 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. Like I said, we were always grabbing any snakes we came across, and one day finally got a Moccasin. Thank you, Dr. Haast, for all your good works and trailblazing in this still to be fully recognized work.and for the fascinating memories. 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 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. While the rest of the crew was out having fun in the exotic locales, he bought exotic snakes. The incident did not end Haast's interest in venom research. It was in 1960, I was in my junior year at San fernando Valley State college at Northridge ,California. Their daughters, Nya and Shantee probably do not even remeber me (it was in the early seventies). Boy, 8, mauled to death by crocodile in front of horrified parents after being dragged underwater as he played. Cookie broke free and took the boy underwater. Icon: Bill Haast. I visited many times in the 60's - 70's. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. ", Twitter accolades came in from across the globe. Haast started collecting snakes and, after initial opposition from his mother, was allowed to keep them at home. He was bitten for the first time at summer camp a year later, when he tried to capture a small timber rattlesnake. He was known as the "go-to guy" for snakebites. Hanley "Doc" Harding, Aurora Protection Specialists. 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. All rights reserved, See Where Florida Ranks Among The Cheapest and Most Expensive U.S. 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. Jim F. Thank you for bringing back many many wonderful memories. ``I feel like a man in his 60s.'' So long Mr. Haast, you were a great man. 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. C.C. I rememer Bill Jr. when we rode motorcycles in scramble races out in North Dade. I then got a "thank you". 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. Except for the grey hair and receding hairline I would have said 'hasn't changed a bit". 76. But I always felt I would live this long. One particular snake that I remember from my childhood visits to the Serpentarium was a big, oversized Florida Eastern Diamond Back rattlesnake. PARROT JUNGLE, MONKEY JUNGLE, SEAQUARIUM, ETC. When I was young I was always interested in snakes. If snake venom holds the secret to a long life, then Bill Haast had the magic. Access from your Country was disabled by the administrator. Soon, his quest for exotic snakes stretched around the world. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Besides the mayor's key, they gave him a firefighter's helmet bearing the unit's name: Venom 1. The event left Haast shaken and the next day, he shot the 1800-pound crocodile nine times. In 1977, a 6-year-old fell into a reptile pit at the Serpentarium and was killed by an 1,800-pound crocodile named Cookie. After many years of being a Bill Haast fan, I was thrilled to be there. I could see their fears fade as they got the nerve to touch a real snake and realize that is wasn't slimy. 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. They had the best house! My scary moment at the Serpentarium was to see the salt water crock in a deep pit jump up and snap a chicken before it hit the ground! It was slithering across the road, which was about 11 feet across and the snakes head and tail were not clearly visible. 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. 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. 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. Haast was also bitten by a green mamba. In 1984, Haast, who is said to have never fully recovered from the . In the late 1940s, it occurred to Haast that the symptoms of polio mirrored the nerve and muscle disruption caused by a cobra bite. I recall Carlita as being a very exotic woman with her eyes made up just like snake's eyes! The cheerleaders and marching band of South Miami High, home of the Cobras, screamed and pounded their feet. Haast saw that a boy had fallen into the crocodile pit. RESEARCH WAS GOAL For Haast, the bites, the snakes and the Serpentarium were only a means to an end. My mother took my brother and I to the serpentarium in 1977. This will be of interest to some out there. ", Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. National television shows hosted by Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas and Johnny Carson invited him or featured him during visits to Miami. The legacy left him immunized, enabling him to donate life-saving blood to 21 victims across the years. Myles, Justin (Dec 2000/Jan 2001 Issue). This is greatl so good to know that Doc is still alive and doing at least some of what he loves best. 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. But there is no reason to visit Miami. During the 1950s, he was bitten by cobras about twenty times. The incident left Bill Haast badly shaken. I followed his instructions and he was right.