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 can no longer open my hands wide or make a fist,'' Haast explained. According to eyewitnesses, the toddlers mother, Ms Graves, was playing with him at the time and also dived into the water. It was a rattle snake. Haast's mental trauma over the boy's death eventually led to the closure of the Serpentarium on South Dixie Highway. local news and culture. In his trademark white lab coat, he would approach a venomous reptile, lure it with one hand and grab its head with the other. I hope you live to 100 to prove snake venon is an anti aging wonder. He landed a job with Miami-based Pan American Airways. 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. My hands served me well.'' That applies to the many other wildlife that existed back then. The night of the accident, he took his Luger, walked out to the pit and shot Cookie in the head. Good memories of a time long ago. The last snake I had was a 12' burmese python that I owned a few years ago. My mother took my brother and I to the serpentarium in 1977. In August 2020, the remains of a 14-year-old boy were cut from a crocodile's stomach after the reptile ate him alive. Children shrieked in horrified glee. The incident left Bill Haast badly shaken. A second boy, 15, was bitten but escaped. 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. I remember it sliding around my leg and shaking my leg till it feel off. He briefly lived in Utah and returned to Florida to live in Charlotte County 18 years ago. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. And in July, a woman in Florida died after she fell into a pond and was attacked by two alligators. 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. 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. 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. We took 3-4 water snakes there that closely resembled the deadly Water Moccasin, only to be turned away penniless. It became bigger than I expected,'' he said. Senseing this the king made an immediate move toward the door to challenge. Smocks. "He'd put on a show just to supplement the research for the while," she said. 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. Several people on social media said the child was on the beach at the time watching a movie. "We're the only fire-based response team in the world." When the show headed to Florida, Haast convinced his parents to let him go. My granddaddy was Robert Kundtz, horticulurist. I grew up in Miami and loved the Serpentarium. 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. Sheppard gave injections to patients with MS. His clinic became famous and was featured on CBS's 60 Minutes. Rescuers were able to recover his body from the water in December 2020, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Florida is renowned for having more alligators than any other US state. I remember those two huge crocs, one Nile and one American. In 1984, Haast, who is said to have never fully recovered from the . And I still do as if it happened yesterday. I took care of Clarita Haast's original Continental Mark. 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 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. 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. She had given me some information on the Serpentarium and I got interested in Indigo Snakes. But the FDA shut it down and banned the drug, saying PROven had not been properly tested for humans. "My So-Called Life", pg. The attack happened on Friday, Dec. 11 during the afternoon in Borneo, Malaysia. Devastated villages shouted the name 'Dimas' in hope of the boy still being alive as the crocodile was hauled ashore. I've tried to keep up with him from time to time. Sheriff Demings confirmed there was a sign near the water warning people not to swim. 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. 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. Cloud, a venom business where the public can pay to watch workers extract venom from 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. There, sitting at a desk was Bill Haast. After the United States entered World War II, Haast served as a flight engineer on Pan Am airliners flying under contract to the United States Army Air Corps. Julio's distraught parents have urged authorities to find the crocodile and kill it. 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. "I just have a curious nature," he said. That photo is one of my favorite collectables. Today, out of print, it's coveted by collectors and sells on eBay for more than $100, a testament to Haast's popularity. "He was a really nice man with a big heart," said his grand-niece Michelle Haast of Miami. Using nothing but a thin hooked metal rod. When we said goodby, I knew this was a moment I would remember for the rest of my life. Among them a zoo director from Des Moines, a local construction worker and a Venezuelan father. For years, Haast tried to prove that venom could treat multiple sclerosis, lupus, arthritis and Parkinson's disease. The parents diligently tried to get the child, Sheriff Demings said. See the article in its original context from. 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. Bowker had hooked. His daughter Nya, my sister and I used to play together. Now, he believes, the long-term benefits of the shots have spared him from many of the maladies of old age. I thought that was pretty cool back then, and still do. Worst time of my life!!! Access from your Country was disabled by the administrator. I will ask him to sign a copy and send it to you and your brother." 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. His grey pleated linen trowsers were pressed and as spotless as his egyptian cotton White shirt, topped with a most stunning Pith Helment. 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. In the late 40's and early 50's I lived in Marathon on the Keys. They considered him a glorified snake-handler, a showman, a medicine man. He was a local celebrity known for something really worthwhile (unlike so many celebrities nowadays). During the 1950s, he was bitten by cobras about twenty times. Tatiana Daz, regional director of the Limn Red Cross, has tried to explain the attack. I remember Cookie on the lawn, too! How did he get them through Customs? I told my mother how I'd really like to get an Indigo and she kind of shrugged it off. In 1949, he began supplying venom to a medical researcher at the University of Miami for experiments in the treatment of polio. My uncle introduced me to the Florida Eastern Diamondback that grew up to 6 feet in length. It's a shame that everything is gone now. A crocodile mauled and killed an 8-year-old boy near his home in Malaysia. Originally, the shots immunized Haast against snake bites, an occupational hazard. Donated several snakes over the years also, mostly coral snakes from Opa Locka area. The legacy left him immunized, enabling him to donate life-saving blood to 21 victims across the years. We used to hunt non-poisonous snakes in the Glades, Homestead farmlands: king snakes, red ratsnakes, yellow ratsnakes, indigos, black racers, etc., and take them down to mr Haas and he had a yardstick on the table and would measure them by the foot, pay us maybe .25cents/foot for the ratsnake, .35/foot for the kingsnakes, etc. He purchased his first exotic snake, a diamondback rattler, from a catalog. I gave Dr. Hasst an iguana that got too large for me to keep and from then on he let me come in for free.. The Serpentarium was my childrens favorate place to go on weekends, especially my son who is now grown and still holds a fasination for snakes. I would vacation with my parents in Florida in the summer months. 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. THIS SOFT SPOKEN WOMAN TURNED TO HER FAMILY AND SAID "I'VE COME ALL THE WAY TO MIAMI TO HAVE SOME SNAKE S__T ON ME". At the same time his work saved dozens of lives. We will have to go and visit the place that a man built who was inspired by Mr. Haast. A 6-year-old boy fell into a crocodile pit and was killed. Bill Jr. eventually left, having lost interest in snakes, but not before he had been bitten four times by venomous snakes. Bill is a true forward thinker and an inspiration to all herpetologists. 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 ). We finally found them on the bottom of my feet. 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. I also remember Mrs. Haast coming to the schools, all the way into my sophomore year at Gables High, to talk about their work - and the high point of her talks was when she would take an indigo snake out of her purse and invite everyone to feel it. 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. Ditto for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lt. Jeffrey Fobb, who frequented shows as a boy. On that trip, I held the very long Indigo snake, and my friend, Ann, took a picture of me. When I was a child in the 1950's, Mama made us stay in the house. I lived just across the road from Bill's place in 1959 thru 1961 and went. Thanks for the wonderful memories and great work you have done. 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. It was not that far from us and yet we were not fearful. At the time I envisioned growing up and working for Bill, learning to snatch & milk snakes. I asked him one evening if I could walk with him he said yes in the baritone of gentle command. I stood, many times, on the grass in the little circle just feet from the Cobra at milking time. I would see him periodically. Once I found an albino snake and she paid me for it, and then took it to Bill Haast. Crocodile That Killed Boy Is Shot to Death, https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/05/archives/crocodile-that-killed-boy-is-shot-to-death.html. Miami is a hotbed for venomous snake bites because it is the entry point for almost any exotic snake, whether it is bound for a collector or a zoo in another state. 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. A massive crocodile attacked and ate an 8-year-old girl while she was bathing in the river with friends. 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. Quite a memory! A crocodile takes rest by the water at the Yala National Park in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on August 21, 2022. It was July, 1972, and my family was making our first visit to the Serpentarium. Today Dec26, 2008 I am looking at his picture some 45 years later and hooks the same. 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. During this time Haast met and married his second wife, Clarita Matthews. One particular snake that I remember from my childhood visits to the Serpentarium was a big, oversized Florida Eastern Diamond Back rattlesnake. It was an experiment, but having received his first venomous snake bite as a teenager, Haast was used to risks. We had an African Ball Python that had stopped eating, and I remember bringing it with my father to have it fed. RESEARCH WAS GOAL For Haast, the bites, the snakes and the Serpentarium were only a means to an end. "We know that there are crocodiles and burrows, but we don't have a notion or a pattern to work on.". In the 1970s, along with his friend, respected Miami physician Ben Sheppard, Haast distributed PROven, a venom-based serum. Keepers were forced to shoot and kill the 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe. For Haast, the weekly shots paid off, helping him to survive 172 venomous snake bites. Dr. Ben Sheppard mentioned in the article helped me with my drug addiction in 1974. He suddenly dropped his hook and reached in with his hand, and grabbed it then swung it over the heads of the audience. ", By his 95th birthday, he was a bit of a recluse. 1, my mother carrying a large snake onboard an airplane, and no. I believe that it was one of the great thrills of my life. It was in 1960, I was in my junior year at San fernando Valley State college at Northridge ,California. 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. independent local journalism in Miami. I'm sorry I can never take my grandchildren there. When he had enough, he opened the Serpentarium in Miami in 1946. Not to mention, people do not operate properly during tragic events. On the 2nd trip, an entire day was planned for me there. 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. I liked that his shows were practical and informative with very little hype, but fascinating nonetheless. 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. The Serpentarium was a magical place and Mr. Haast was a very interesting fellow. It took the 1,800pound reptile an hour to die. "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.". Those were great times and i'll never forget them! 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 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. When he was 19 he joined a man who had a roadside snake exhibit, and went with him to Florida. So, on a trip to visit my parents in Miami, when Scot was two (1977), we took him to the Miami Serpentarium. Just heard the mother grieving her baby. 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 witnessed one such snake in 1985 on a dirt road in northeast Florida. Every year we took a field trip there, and every year I looked forward to it. More than twenty of those individuals recovered.[7]. I remember seeing an alligator gulping down whole chickens and being allowed to handle an Indigo snake after Mr. Haast's presentation. Born William E. Haast on Dec. 30, 1910 in Paterson, N.J., he was a South Florida celebrity for surviving successive venomous snakebites. His next bite, later the same year, came from a four-foot copperhead. 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. 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. Now close to 60, a S. Floridian I can still remember driving by that concrete cobra many times. I have Ophidiophobia (not herpetophobia the fear of reptiles) a true fear of snakes. 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. I feel sorry for the young generations that they will never get to see the true mastery of Bill Haast with his serpents. I . On the way from the Fontainebleau Hotel we heard that President Kennedy had been shot. Haast eventually sold his family home to buy the land on South Dixie Highway where the Serpentarium would rise. 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. 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. 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 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. . I've outlived all my friends down there.' Four years ago, I got bit by a Malaysian pit viper, and that was the end of my right . ''From the first day I walked into the Miami Serpentarium, I knew that was for me,'' he said. I think one of the two men was Mr. Haast himself. As a kid, it was a thrill to see the man himself up close. the coolest thing i remember is the sighn bill had on the stage while he was milking his terrorfying snakes "there is nothing more exciting then watching danger from a safe distance". Friday, his wife Nancy put his lifetime tally at 172. Bill Haast, the crocodile's owner, was not talking to reporters. His dream of creating a snake sanctuary grew nearer. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. . ( Because they wouldn't let me move here by myself.) I will forever carry fond memories of "Doc" and how he turned my life around. I am a big guy and I thought we could easily hold him still. Boy, 8, mauled to death by crocodile in front of horrified parents after being dragged underwater as he played. It had been bit my Cookie while trying to stop Cookie from getting out on US1.Also their pet lion jumped across the roof of the Shelby and the chain scratched the roof. Haast's death-defying act didn't disappoint. The concrete & stucco cobra was the second icon of the Serpentarium. 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. They moved to Florida so that Haast could pursue his dream of opening a "snake farm". 2010s. 'There is no reason to visit Miami. [8], Haast closed the Serpentarium in 1984, and moved to Utah for a few years. I can't imagine more suitable place than South Florida for Bill Haas's Serpentarium. 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. Even though the Serpentarium was there, some people still got bitten, and died from the poisonous snakes. I used to take the snakes I would find to a lady named Alma Bishop, who had a little shop in the Flamingo Bar. When I was young I was always interested in snakes. "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. 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.. I introduced myself and got my wife and kids to meet him too. Across the street, a Haast lived in a nice house. 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. We donated it to the serpentarium. An eight-year-old boy was mauled to death by a crocodile just metres from his family home in Malaysia. As I was sitting there I heard a big CHOMP and turned around to see one huge animal falling back into the pitmissed me by about a foothorseshoes and hand-grenadeseh? Eventually, his collection became one of the most diverse venomous snakes on the planet. boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium. Nya used to take us after hours to the Serpentariumm to watch her Dad and his workers feed the animals. boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium. bill was to capture this cobra and milk it for the crowd. What a rush. 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. He was back at it next week when we came again to fill the popcorn machines. It was intuitive. A 911 call was received at 9.16pm local time. Every week, Haast still injects his arm with a cocktail of venom from five snakes -- cobras, mambas, kraits, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes. With his certification, he moved to Miami to work for Pan American World Airways. The emergency services unit celebrated its 10th year recently at the Metro Zoo in Miami. Bill Haast's daughter was in my 4th grade class and we went to the Serpentarium for a field trip. Inside, the snake shows were pure drama with no frills, no fanfare, no drum roll, no silence please, no ladies and gentleman.