Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

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okapikpr

Well-Known Member
Homosassa Springs was one of the dozen tourist attractions that sprung up all over Florida in the 1950s and 1960s. What started out as a floating underwater observation deck above the spring itself, turned into a diverse collection of tropical species including Florida Manatee, California Sea Lion, American Crocodile, Amazon River Dolphin, Hippopotamus, numerous monkeys and native Florida Wildlife. In 1989, the state of Florida acquired the animal attraction and turned it into a wildlife park operatered by the State Parks Department, displaying only native Florida wildlife. All of the exotic animals were sent to other facilities, except one. The locals had such a big attachtment to the park's hippo, that the state's governor at the time declared Lou, the Hippo, an official citizen of the state of Florida..thus he became a native and is still at the park today.

Main Page - Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park Florida State Parks

Welcome to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park Web Gateway
 
Some Recent news from the park:

Many new and beautiful birds have joined our feathered families: 6 Mute Swans, 4 Osprey, 4 Screech Owls, 3 Black Crowned Night Herons, 2 Royal Terns, 2 Cormorants, 1 Barn Owl, and (a partridge in a pear tree! Erm, no…) a Ring Bill Duck and a Black Duck!

The swans will get a new, fenced-in waterways area near the boat dock at the Visitor’s Center, but all of the other new birds are on exhibit inside the Park. See if you can find them all!

An incredible donation of 24 snakes is currently being classified by our Wildlife Care Rangers. They include several Rat Snakes and Mole King Snakes, and some non-Florida snakes that we are trying to find homes for.

Finally, and possibly most impressively for a State Park, we are now home to a Florida Panther (see photo)! His name is Don Juan, for reasons I will leave to your imagination. Currently, he is hanging out in Sheena’s area, the quarantine habitat behind the main panther exhibit. Needless to say, Maygar is QUITE interested in her new neighbor (she purrs at him), and only time will tell if the feeling is mutual.

The new Burrowing Owl exhibit should open to the public in the coming months and bring with it a new Burrowing Owl to join Zuni, our newest Burrowing Owl currently living in the mew. And a new Fox Squirrel exhibit is in the works.

n Nov 17th, we hope to welcome our highly anticipated new residents: three Red Wolf pups. Art says with their arrival, we will become the only State Park to have two of the most endangered mammal species in North America: the Florida Panther and the Red Wolves.
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Don Juan the wayward Florida panther has new home : Environment : Naples Daily News
 
Some more news from the park (though it is somewhat old):

This year we have completed our new 8,000 square foot Felburn Wildlife Care Center. In addition, the Visitors Center's new picnic pavilion is completed with wheelchair excess and a safety fence to protect the children from the tram road. The new boardwalk has been installed, and we are currently in the process of constructing a new River Otter exhibit and a Red Wolf exhibit for the Red Wolves that will be arriving this fall. We have installed a sanitizing booth for hand washing in conjunction with the outreach programs with our wildlife.
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Friends of Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
 
okapikpr said:
Homosassa Springs was one of the dozen tourist attractions that sprung up all over Florida in the 1950s and 1960s. What started out as a floating underwater observation deck above the spring itself, turned into a diverse collection of tropical species including Florida Manatee, California Sea Lion, American Crocodile, Amazon River Dolphin, Hippopotamus, numerous monkeys and native Florida Wildlife. In 1989, the state of Florida acquired the animal attraction and turned it into a wildlife park operatered by the State Parks Department, displaying only native Florida wildlife. All of the exotic animals were sent to other facilities, except one. The locals had such a big attachtment to the park's hippo, that the state's governor at the time declared Lou, the Hippo, an official citizen of the state of Florida..thus he became a native and is still at the park today.

Main Page - Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park Florida State Parks

Welcome to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park Web Gateway
Click to expand...

Do you happen to have any photos or details of the Amazon River Dolphins, okapikpr? :)
 
CTZoologist said:
Lu was a special hippo, and, at 65, was tied with Bertha of the Manila Zoo for the the title of oldest known hippo. Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park is a state-run wildlife park dedicated to Florida animals. Lu was a exception.

Lu, Citrus County’s celebrity hippo, dies at 65

You should visit the park (and the nearby springs) if you get the chance.
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Rest in peace Lu, what an incredible age.
 
CTZoologist said:
Lu was a special hippo, and, at 65, was tied with Bertha of the Manila Zoo for the the title of oldest known hippo. Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park is a state-run wildlife park dedicated to Florida animals. Lu was a exception.

Lu, Citrus County’s celebrity hippo, dies at 65

You should visit the park (and the nearby springs) if you get the chance.
Click to expand...
steveroberts said:
Rest in peace Lu, what an incredible age.
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It’s a phenomenal age. For comparison in Australasia (albeit a smaller population size, even historically), the oldest Common hippopotamus on record died the month he was due to turn 55 years old. The second longest lived hippopotamus died at 53/54 years (his year of birth was an estimate); and the third longest lived died a month before her 51st birthday.

Great to hear of this hippopotamus making it to 65 years and is hopefully something we’ll see more of (increased increases in longevity) in line with advances in husbandry.
 
CTZoologist said:
Lu was a special hippo, and, at 65, was tied with Bertha of the Manila Zoo for the the title of oldest known hippo. Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park is a state-run wildlife park dedicated to Florida animals. Lu was a exception.

Lu, Citrus County’s celebrity hippo, dies at 65

You should visit the park (and the nearby springs) if you get the chance.
Click to expand...
Very sad to hear, words cannot express how I feel about this, he lived such a long life. Lu nearly doubled the median life expectancy for a Nile Hippo (about 35 years), and was more than a decade older than the next-oldest hippo in the country! He was the last surviving of the 30 calves sired by the San Diego Zoo's longtime breeding bull "Rube" (1936-1988).
 
Jambo said:
Yes it seems so - he was 65 years and four months of age. An incredible age for a hippo, especially a male!
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Slight correction to this, he is considered to be tied for the oldest confirmed hippo ever, as Bertha at the Manila Zoo also was an estimated 65 years old when she died in 2017. Lu does have the title of being the oldest male and oldest captive-born Nile Hippo of all time.
 
Nile Hippo Expert said:
Slight correction to this, he is considered to be tied for the oldest confirmed hippo ever, as Bertha at the Manila Zoo also was an estimated 65 years old when she died in 2017. Lu does have the title of being the oldest male and oldest captive-born Nile Hippo of all time.
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Well, as @CTZoologist mentioned, Bertha's age cannot be exactly verified so i think the oldest 'confirmed' title goes to Lu here. Bertha was obviously at least 58 at the time of her death - but there's a lot of unverified information regarding her actual supposed age.
 
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