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11-15 of 15 messages
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RE: alligators and crocs
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by Cro on November 2, 2008
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Terry is right about the boy who was killed by the big Nile Crock at the Miami Serpentarium.
"BOY KILLED
The attraction prospered until a tragedy in 1977. A 6-year-old boy fell into a crocodile pit and was killed.
Haast still grows somber when retelling the story: It was a Sunday. People were lining up for a show. Suddenly, he heard screaming and ran toward the commotion.
Haast saw that a boy had fallen into the crocodile pit. Haast jumped down into the pit. By then Cookie, the 12-foot, 2,000-pound crocodile, had the boy in its mouth. ''I hit him over the head, trying to get him to let go.'' Others joined Haast. Cookie broke free and took the boy underwater. ''I knew it was over then.'' Haast calls it one of the lowest points in his life. The night of the accident, he took his Luger, walked out to the pit and shot Cookie in the head. It was buried on the grounds. The boy's family never sued, accepting only the maximum insurance payment, Haast said." BY LUISA YANEZ of the Miami Herald.
I can remeber seeing that huge crock on many visits to the Miami Serpentarium in the years prior to that. That event had a lot to do with Bill closing the place to the public.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: alligators and crocs
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by tigers9 on November 3, 2008
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Personally, I would NOT call this horrible accident an attack. Croc had somethign fall in his cage, croc assumed it was his food or toy...am I wrong?
Z
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RE: alligators and crocs
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by Cro on November 3, 2008
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Z, you are right, the incident at the Miami Serpentarium was not an "attack."
It was clearly a feeding response from the crocodile to something that fell into it's enclosure.
It is amazing that millions of people toured the Miami Serpentarium, and managed to follow the "rules" that told people to not sit on, or climb up on the enclosure walls, and all it took was one set of nit-whit parents that thought it would be cool to perch their kid up on the wall, and not follow the rules.
Most incidents involving potentially deadly encounters with animals in captivity, or in the wild, happen when people do not follow the "rules."
A good example is the grassy strip along the canal at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. There are many signs there that tell the tourists not to let their dogs near there, but, they ignore the signs, and let their little fufu run around in that grassy area, or even tie him to one of the trees along the canal, while they go see the exhibits. Well, the alligators in the canal do not know fufu from any other bite size small animal, they just see food. It happens many times each year.
The world is unfortunatly full of people who think that they do not have to follow "rules."
Best Regards John Z
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RE: alligators and crocs
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by pictigaster1 on November 3, 2008
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The fact that no private owner has ever been killed by there crocs is a true attestment of animal awareness and safety protocal for these creatures no other exotic owners can claim the same .A child was killed a tradgidy yes but no owner handler ever has.What a record
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RE: alligators and crocs
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by FSB on November 5, 2008
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I was also going to point to the tragic case at the Miami Serpentarium as being the one example I know of a fatality involving a captive crocodilian in the U.S. As tragic as it was, the fault did not lie with the Serpentarium or its very esteemed and caring director, Bill Haast, who was so troubled by the incident that he closed the facility. There were plenty of warning signs which were ignored by the victim and apparently his family.
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