We are told 70 years is our life span. Best Pets in Richardson, TX - ChamberofCommerce.com Robert Lyons (Slidell, LA). premier venom production center of the world. Bill was always a special person in my life. William Haast sent 10 vials from the Miami Serpentarium. At least 173 times, roughly 20 times were nearly fatal; Haast had bites from dangerous snakes. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium. Many wonder if a venomous snake bite caused Bill Haasts death. Mr. Dishong told me tales of Bill being in the hospital expected to die from snake bites chronicled in the Miami Herald. find a way to support the effort, for since there was no market for venom other Grief researchers say holding that missing funeral service, even a year or more later, can still help us heal. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Oliver Schulz, Racgp Employee Arrested And Charged With Alleged War Crime Murder. He as usual was a wonderful host . Late 50's, early 60'sSitting in the living room with my Dad. Deepest sympathy to the Haast family. Thankyou Mrs. Haast, for sticking by him through thick and thin. He hallucinated, with visions of lambs heads and purple curtains, but soon recovered and went back to work. The world also has lost somone very special whose work has saved thousands of lives. In the 1940s Sept. 18, 1948, to be exact he began to inject himself with diluted amounts of cobra venom, which he gradually increased over time. may your light alway's shine. My heart is with you all at this sad time. Experience: I inject myself with snake venom | Snakes | The Guardian I met Bill in 1965. Miami Serpentarium Laboratories Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Almost six months after turning 100, Bill Haast died naturally on June 15, 2011. Also as a child growing up in Miami, every year in the 60's-70's a school field trip to see Bill at the serpentarium. "It was his adopted city. Thank you. I love you all and may GOD bless you and keep you safe and healthy! Creator Of Miami Serpentarium Dies At 100 - CBS Miami - CBS News By the 1990s, he was providing 36,000 samples of venom to pharmaceutical laboratories each year. Bowker wasnt charged until 1992, when Haast was running Miami Serpentarium Laboratories in Punta Gorda, on the west coast of Florida. Through the years (I'm now 57) I have often remembered this special time in my lifealthough I hate venomous snakes I have enjoyed owning many non-venomous and especially love the beautiful Indigos I used to see in south FL. I visited the Serpentarium one weekend in 1968, and was fortunate to be there when Bill milked that huge King Cobra..we were all in a courtyard together with Bill and the SNAKE, and believe me, we moved back as a group when that snake emerged, rearing high over Bill's head. may your hearts soon be filled with wonderful memories of joyful times together as you celebrate a life definitely well-lived. I am 81 now and we have no snakes in New Zealand. to get a whole lot better than that. May god alway's be with you. Having developed immunity from 172 poisonous snakebites, the "snake man" donated blood to many snakebite victims. Unquestionably, Haast himself saved lives. 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. At age 12, he discovered his future career while watching a segment on "60 Minutes" about a man he fondly recalls: Bill Haast, the former director of the Miami Serpentarium Laboratories in Florida. Serpentarium was snake place in Miami | Miami Herald Beneath that wall was a pit with a giant crocodile. Of course he recognized that in order to see that vision realized he would have to Haast moved to Utah in 1984 but returned to Florida six years later. Operating from 1946 to 1984, the Serpentarium drew as many as 50,000 annual visitors. The original Miami Serpentarium, located south of. where people gathered at the end of a tour to watch the demonstration but not all. Without his presence in this field many lives would have been lost, knowledge never have been gained, and memories never even existed. boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium Required fields are marked *. The picture of Bill and I still hang on my wall. He faced perhaps his most frightening challenge in 1954, when he was bitten by a blue krait, an Asian snake that is among the most highly poisonous in the world. Bill was a great man. "I have no proof, but I'm active from morning 'til night, seven days a week. Bill Haast, who turned his childhood fascination with snakes into an exceptionally long career as a roadside showman, a supplier of venom and a man seemingly immune to the bites of cobras, vipers. According to The New York Times, Haast was the founder of the iconic Miami Serpentarium that entertained 5,000 annual spectators between 1947 and 1984. 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 pistol. He was one in a million and and could instill his passion in all who encountered him. Bill haast miami serpentarium photos. He looks like hes 30.. On the last visit, I saw the King Cobras, on a Sunday. Over time the animal's antibody levels increase, and as the It took thousands of repetitions to produce enough venom to be made into an antivenin. I loved watching them even more than Disney World trips. Haast went to the pit with a pistol the very next day and shot the croc. I was no more than 6 but remember learning from them that you could put an alligator "to sleep" by putting it on it's back. Bill Haast : The real Snake-Man