Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
On a beautiful sunny day, we parked our car and entered the Visitor’s Center at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. We paid our entry fee, strolled around the gift shop and visited the manatee education center while waiting to board a pontoon boat to take you into the park. You may also take a tram to the park.
The heart of the park is the first-magnitude freshwater spring that produces millions of gallons of spring flow every hour, thus forming the headwaters of the Homosassa River. The first things you will notice in the park are the manatees. Some are injured by boats, some are ill from infection, others are recuperating from losing a limb and some are just weary and need to rest. The Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park is a rehabilitation station for injured or orphaned West Indian manatees.
An underwater observatory allows you to look into the underwater domain of the fish and mammals. One manatee came over to the glass and rolled over. Then it swam away and came back to roll again. As long as people were in the observatory, the manatee entertained them. I was amazed at the size of the manatee. It was a good six feet long and must have weighed close to 1,000 pounds.
Over the years, the park has turned into a hospital/rehabilitation spot for many indigent species of birds and animals. Some of these critters will never leave the preserve, like the birds with one wing. There were maimed or injured river otters, bobcats, Florida panthers, cougars, alligators, hawks, owls, eagles, black bears, red wolves, gray foxes, whooping cranes, storks, pelicans, flamingos, roseate spoonbills, ibis, herons, and one 50-year-old hippopotamus named Rosie.
The story of Lou is a good one. This area used to be a private theme park/petting zoo/ entertainment complex. After the state purchased the land from the owners, a decision was made to restore the park to the natural state by getting rid of flora and fauna that was not native to the area. All went well until the park personnel could not place Lou; in fact, they could not even pay someone to take her.
Things were looking bleak for Lou. Then, the citizens of Homosassa and children in the local schools decided to help Lou. Lou was made an official citizen of Florida by the governor and given resident status by the county. Every year, the schoolchildren celebrate Lou’s birthday at the park, complete with hats, cupcakes, photographs, reporters and a dietary birthday cake. Lou was 50 years old the next day.
We caught the tram back to our car, marveling over all the injured creatures, some that will never leave the beautiful setting of the Homosassa River. This was a perfect day.
