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. The Serpentarium was a magical place and Mr. Haast was a very interesting fellow. 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. As a result of handling these snakes, Haast had been bitten 172 times by mid-2008,[4] all of which but the last few were validated by the Guinness Book of World Records "for surviving the most deadly snake bites", a distinction Haast disliked as he did not think being bitten was a goal to be attained or admired.[5]. I well remember Bill Haast and his snake "milking" shows. Is it the venom? More animals than anyone I ever knew, and of every variety. Senseing this the king made an immediate move toward the door to challenge. ''I know a lot of people in Miami still remember the Serpentarium and wonder what became of me, that's why I'm talking to you,'' said Haast, who would only be interviewed by telephone. Ricky Ganya was last seen collecting snails on a riverbank in Kuching, Malaysia, Nice to see the photos again. We entered the Serpentarium and a fellow (Haas) walked out of the back office to greet the tourists and said" he's dead" referring to John F. Kennedy, President of the USA. ( Because they wouldn't let me move here by myself.) It is one stop from the Magic Kingdom Park and the Seven Seas Lagoon is popular with water lovers and boating enthusiasts. I recall Carlita as being a very exotic woman with her eyes made up just like snake's eyes! Miami's independent source of boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium. NEW Police have found evidence a 12-year-old was killed in a crocodile attack in northern Australia. haasti is different from the parent species only by virtue of an unusual configuration of white coloration on the head and chin. A rare survivor, he declared himself doing "very well, anxious to get back to work.". When we got home, she handed me a small travel bag that she had carried with her on board the airplane. I visited The Serpentarium in '78. 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". It's a shame that everything is gone now. I remember in 3rd grade, back in 1960, one of my classmates dropped her purse into the crocodile pit. Furthermore, you shouldn't speak about how a parent should have kept a better eye on their dead son. Like I said, we were always grabbing any snakes we came across, and one day finally got a Moccasin. He received the key to the city.Those same hands that for decades eased venom from the world's most poisonous snakes held the key to the city of Miami on Thursday. Two-year-old Lane Thomas Graves had been playing in . 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. carpet warehouse became the new home for several large ( 2 to 4 foot ) lizards, which I guess, were living in the trees and were never captured. 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. And I still do as if it happened yesterday. 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. Another interesting attraction there were the large Galopagas turtles he had. I was inspired by him because as kids we used to go all through the Evergaldes looking for snakes to catch. Police said witnesses described the alligator as being between 1.2 and 2.1 metres long. But I still think he should not have shot that alligator. National television shows hosted by Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas and Johnny Carson invited him or featured him during visits to Miami. 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. 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. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, shoot and kill the 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe, Explosive end to case thats rocked America. The honor, bestowed by Miami's mayor, was delivered to Haast at his home east of Punta Gorda by members of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Unit. 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. He was carrying a snake-bite kit, and had a friend inject him with antivenom; the bite hospitalized him for a week. Back in the 1980's, I lived in the Pepperwood S/D (about one block south of Kendell Drive, just west of Palmetto Expy). Photo: Orange County Sheriff's Office. Art Levy | 8/1/2008. [2] After closing the Serpentarium, he opened the Miami Serpentarium Laboratories, a facility in Punta Gorda, Florida that produced snake venom for medical and research use. Jaws dropped. The boy's father and another man, Nicolas Caulineau, jumped into the pit and straddled the crocodile. I'd rather go back in the ocean than back to 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. Haast started collecting snakes and, after initial opposition from his mother, was allowed to keep them at home. 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! As many families do, the Malaysian family had a get together with some friends. I was fascinated watching them put Mr Haast's feeding tube down and feed the snake. The incident left Bill Haast badly shaken. Haast still grows somber when retelling the story: It was a Sunday. I can't imagine more suitable place than South Florida for Bill Haas's Serpentarium. My oldest brother had met a girl who, I believe, had worked at the Miami Serpentarium. Jim F. Thank you for bringing back many many wonderful memories. Watching Bill milk then tube feed special formula into those angry hooded cobras he'd take out of the boxes is something I will never forget. Their daughters, Nya and Shantee probably do not even remeber me (it was in the early seventies). I'm very glad I did. 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. Soon, his quest for exotic snakes stretched around the world. His body will now be turned over to Orange County officers for an autopsy. ''I could become a poster boy for the benefits of venom,'' Haast jokes. 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. She would take some of her snakes to Bill Haast. A 911 call was received at 9.16pm local time. The legacy left him immunized, enabling him to donate life-saving blood to 21 victims across the years. 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! 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. All rights reserved, See Where Florida Ranks Among The Cheapest and Most Expensive U.S. The parents diligently tried to get the child, Sheriff Demings said. 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. I don't remember how long he was but I DO remember how strong he was. He said at that time if he lived to be 100 it would possibly prove that snake venom is anti aging. The show was great. He placed a live, non-venomous snake into one of the supposedly empty boxes to be cleaned. On another visit I was told that the big lump in the python I was looking at was the suckling pig it had swallowed whole and was digesting, I, was surprised to find myself on the ground with ammonia being waved under my nose! It stood almost eye level with Bill and lunged repeatedly as it advanced across the floor toward him. C.C. I'm 5'2 from s city in north Jersey myself, and the snake was about my size! Authorities estimate there are between 1.3 million and 2 million alligators across the state. He landed a job with Miami-based Pan American Airways. I am a big guy and I thought we could easily hold him still. 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. 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. Nya used to take us after hours to the Serpentariumm to watch her Dad and his workers feed the animals. 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. The resorts beach pool is next to the lake and overlooks the Seven Seas Lagoon. When asked if Disney was aware of alligators on the property, Wahaler advised there were signs that said no swimming. great childhood memories spent there with my family , i remember getting goose bumps when we would see the cobra statue. But the FDA shut it down and banned the drug, saying PROven had not been properly tested for humans. I feel sorry for the young generations that they will never get to see the true mastery of Bill Haast with his serpents. Look at how big the transplanted Pythons get and that they thrive and fight the alligators in the Everglades. He would tell us stories about going to Boy Scout Camp with this extraordinary man, Bill Hasst. 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. God bless Mr. Haas, and all the good he has done, on top of the lives he has saved through his bravery and research. Living In Ms. we had plenty of cotton mouths copperheads and assorted others. 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. Boy, 8, mauled to death by crocodile in front of horrified parents after being dragged underwater as he played. In April 2010, a 25-year-old woman from New Jersey was killed by a . Mr Graves desperately tried to rescue his son but was unsuccessful. Mr. Haast fished it out with a long pole after the big croc took a bite of it. I'm surprised to hear the stories about the cobra being damaged enroute to SMSH. I remember it sliding around my leg and shaking my leg till it feel off.