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. Unfortunately, in 1977 a six-year-old boy fell into the crocodile pit at Miami Serpentarium and was killed by "Cookie", a 12-ft-long crocodile. Haast's second wife, Clarita, simply narrated, setting the mood for the audience. 76. Sheriff Demings confirmed there was a sign near the water warning people not to swim. It's a shame that everything is gone now. He purchased his first exotic snake, a diamondback rattler, from a catalog. I remember him as a very genuine, nice man. He was a local celebrity known for something really worthwhile (unlike so many celebrities nowadays). And I still do as if it happened yesterday. Furthermore, you shouldn't speak about how a parent should have kept a better eye on their dead son. It was damaged by a hurricane in 2005 and they just built a new one. A crocodile mauled and killed an 8-year-old boy near his home in Malaysia. At the time of the TV airing Mr. Haast was 87 years old and quite handsome he looked no older that early 50s. In the 1970s, along with his friend, respected Miami physician Ben Sheppard, Haast distributed PROven, a venom-based serum. That was South Dade, Florida, relatively free of the most venomous snakes because Bill Hass and the Serpentarium. Bill is a true forward thinker and an inspiration to all herpetologists. Tonight at Walt Disney's Grand Floridian Hotel crews search Seven Seas Lagoon for possible alligator attack victim pic.twitter.com/lVSOxivh05. For years, Haast tried to prove that venom could treat multiple sclerosis, lupus, arthritis and Parkinson's disease. Their daughters, Nya and Shantee probably do not even remeber me (it was in the early seventies). Like I said, we were always grabbing any snakes we came across, and one day finally got a Moccasin. The gentle smile said yes as I ran in the house saying " He' a Colonel Dick a real live Colonel!!!" Haast could not make the ceremony, so part of the ceremony came to him. 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. . Voted for the photo and the biographical info. Grainy WTVJ footage from 1962, now part of the Wolfson Archive, shows a fit, toothy 51-year-old Haast in a hospital recovering from his 79th snake bite his first ever by a King Cobra. 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. I got excited thinking it was a new toy. ''I miss the excitement of the Serpentarium,'' Haast said. 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. What amemorable time, nobody was dissapointed and we all calmed down and talked quietly afterwaeds. "And in the end the research could take care of itself.". The event left Haast shaken and the next day, he shot the 1800-pound crocodile nine times. Thanks for the memories, as Bob Hope would say. The giant concrete-and-stucco cobra was donated to South Miami Senior High but fell apart during its move to the school. But at the Serpentarium, there was a monster 14 foot rattlesnake from upper Florida, probably from around the Gainesville area. 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 gave Dr. Hasst an iguana that got too large for me to keep and from then on he let me come in for free.. I was inspired by him because as kids we used to go all through the Evergaldes looking for snakes to catch. Haast was also bitten by a green mamba. 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. EARLY START The story of how Haast made his way to Florida has a certain Huck Finn appeal. On two trips to Florida in the late 60s, my parents took me to The Serpentarium. 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! 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. See, when a poisonous snake bites you, and his fangs (having hypodermic-like hollow holes at their points) inject their venom , they are in fact "digesting" you while you diethe venom is softening up your tissue, destroying it, making you easier to eat, digesthence Mr. Haas' fingers were so deformed? However, we kept them because they made good pets. Boy, 8, cut from 26ft crocodile which swallowed him whole while he was He made special trips, bringing back such perilous species as cobras and saw-scaled vipers. Besides the mayor's key, they gave him a firefighter's helmet bearing the unit's name: Venom 1. While there, he ended up rooming with a moonshiner on the edge of the Everglades, and became proficient at capturing all kinds of snakes. The incident left Bill Haast badly shaken. Using nothing but a thin hooked metal rod. During World War II, he was aboard flights that delivered food and medicine to Africa and Asia. The boy's father and another man, Nicolas Caulineau, jumped into the pit and straddled the crocodile. I visited the Serpentarium in the late 70s on a trip down to Key West. I was 11 in 1972 when my folks agreed to stop at the Serpentarium when our family of seven drove down from Massachusetts to Key West for February school vacation. His body will now be turned over to Orange County officers for an autopsy. He's truly an amazing man who has lived a life of exemplary devotion to his work. And in July, a woman in Florida died after she fell into a pond and was attacked by two alligators. 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. And modern medical researchers are proving him right snake venom fractions are becoming recognized as potent medicines. Set in the American South in the 20th century. Even though the Serpentarium was there, some people still got bitten, and died from the poisonous snakes. The victim, identified as Stambuli Bamusi, along with his friends, had gone . For inspiration and advice, he leaned on Haast. He respected him very much. 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. BILL TOLD THE CROWD NOT TO WORRY, "IT'S ONLY CALCIUM". The findings were very encouraging, Haast said. PARROT JUNGLE, MONKEY JUNGLE, SEAQUARIUM, ETC. 12-year-old boy Charlie Buhl describes crocodile attack, rescue at We had an iguana that was too large to keep. I hope you live to 100 to prove snake venon is an anti aging wonder. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Haast eventually sold his family home to buy the land on South Dixie Highway where the Serpentarium would rise. 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?) Jaws dropped. He had so much venom in him that we were told even a bee sting could kill him. Four years ago, I got bit by a Malaysian pit viper, and that was the end of my right . He would shove the snake's fangs into the top of a vial and watch the venom trickle down. I then got a "thank you". I, and many other people, really enjoy reading the comments that are left under the photos. My Dad would take me there often, we lived in South Miami (as I do againlong story). 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. I never forgot Mr. Haast and his snakes, and, to this day, I am not scared of snakes or any other animals. Bill Haast and the Miami Serpentarium - recent news articles 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. We ran it over, and with a little coaxing, I convinced the driver to return. In the first chapter a bunch of young boys are headed to a swimming hole; one boy races ahead and dives in. He introduced himself as Col. Spencer, I introduced myself as "I'm Mark and could my brother Dick come too?" Living In Ms. we had plenty of cotton mouths copperheads and assorted others. The show was great. He died of natural causes on Wednesday in Punta Gorda, on Florida's west coast, where he had made his home. He loved his animals and was deeply committed to bringing them to the world in an educated, and respectful manner. There, sitting at a desk was Bill Haast. ``I feel like a man in his 60s.'' 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 BAND FROM SOUTH MIAMI HIGH RODE WITH THE COBRA TO THE SCHOOL ON A FLAT BED TRUCK WITH THE BAND HAPPILY PLAYING AND BEATING THEIR DRUMS--SUDDENLY--SEVERAL CARS AHEAD OF ME THE SNAKE --WHICH WAS PLANTED STRAIGHT UP--SUDDENLY FELL APART ON THE TRUCK --JUST SORT OF DISENTAGRATED --AND THE BOTTOM WAS RUINED--BUT A SMALL PART INCLUDING THE HEAD REMAINED-AND APPEARED UNDAMAGED---AND I PRESUME--MADE IT SAFELY TO THE SCHOOL--J. MUDD. Bill was an outstanding dedicated man. For the first five years Bill, Clarita, and his son were the only staff. Sheriff Demings said this type of thing had never happened before in Disneys 45 years of operations. He later received commendations from President Gerald Ford and Miami Mayor Stephen Clark. In North Carolina, a chemist offered this salute: "Resssssssst in Peace Bill Haast.". 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. Every week, Haast still injects his arm with a cocktail of venom from five snakes -- cobras, mambas, kraits, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes. In October, a man fought a crocodile with a knife while it held his friend's head in its jaws. It was buried on the grounds. My hands served me well.'' Disney Alligator Attack: Cause of Death Confirmed by Autopsy - People The emergency services unit celebrated its 10th year recently at the Metro Zoo in Miami. We donated it to the serpentarium. When asked if Disney was aware of alligators on the property, Wahaler advised there were signs that said no swimming. . I recall going with my brother to the airport to pick her up upon her arrival. Miami's independent source of This will be of interest to some out there. No. Serpentarium was snake place in Miami | Miami Herald 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. 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? Its been one tough week in Orlando.. It was a close call, one that underscored the county's need for an antivenin bank, Cruz said. As a girl in the early 60's, I lived down the block from Dr Haast and his family. Myles, Justin (Dec 2000/Jan 2001 Issue). .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, In those days there were no laws prohibiting it, but the crew members didn't appreciate it.[6]. Lots of people like me. Res After his wife became pregnant, Haast lost his job when the speakeasy he was working at was raided by IRS agents. 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's a shame good things must always come to an end, isn't it?