Trapper Nelson | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 5, 1908 |
| Died | 1968 (aged 59–60) Hobe Sound, Florida, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Self-inflicted gunshot wound |
| Body discovered | July 30, 1968 |
| Other names | Vincent Natulkiewicz Vince "Trapper" Nelson |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Relatives | Philip Celmer II (nephew, executor, deceased, 1994) Cynthia Celmer Tomassetti (grand-niece), Philip Celmer III (grand-nephew), Richard Celmer (grand-nephew) |
Vince "Trapper" Nelson (born Vincent Nostokovich or Natulkiewicz; 1909–1968) was an American trapper, hunter and zoo founder. Though he was born in New Jersey, and lived in Mexico and Texas, Nelson is best known for establishing a homestead-turned-zoo on the shore of Florida's Loxahatchee River. Filled with exotic and wild animals, his zoo was a popular tourist spot in the 1940s and 1950s, visited by local and national celebrities. Because of this, he became known locally as "Tarzan of the Loxahatchee".
The zoo was eventually shut down by state health inspectors in 1960. After his zoo was closed, Nelson became a hermit and suffered from undiagnosed health problems. In 1968, he was found dead from a gunshot wound in his cabin by a friend. His death was ruled a suicide. Nelson's campsite is now known as the Trapper Nelson Zoo Historic District in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Hobe Sound, Florida.