Homosassa Springs is another "roadside attraction" acquired by the State of Florida and turned into a state park. This one features manatees. In fact it's billed as the only place you can see manatees 365 days a year. It started out as an exotic animal park, which is why a hippopotamus lives here, although the rest of the exotic animals have been replaced by native Florida species.
We started this adventure also with a boat ride, just as we did at Weeki Wachee. The eastern entrance to the park, which includes the visitor center, is located on US 19. Visitors can then take either a tram or a boat trip to the western side of the park where the wildlife park is located. The boat trip along Pepper Creek is narrated by the boat captain, who points out whatever wildlife happens to be around and also gives some park history.
We did in fact see some wildlife, including an alligator lying on the bank plus turtles and an osprey nest that has been used by the same pair for eight years. Each year the male arrives early to repair and enlarge the nest. If it meets with the female's approval, courtship ensues and the pair raise their chicks together.
At the wildlife park we went to a manatee program. We had a chance to see some captive manatees. They, like most of the animals in the park, are not able for one reason or another to live in the wild. Manatees are huge, slow moving, entirely non-aggressive, and very appealing. If we were here during the winter months, when wild manatees come in to Homosassa Spring to seek warm water, we would love to snorkel with the manatees. This time of year there are very few wild manatees inland, and the water is murkier than it is in the winter time.
Next we went to the hippopotamus and alligator program. The hippo, called Lu (short for Lucifer), is definitely the star of the show. Lu worked in the movies when he was young. He had a good buddy, Susie the donkey, also an animal actor. Since Lu would follow Susie, she was used to move him to where he was needed for filming. Now Lu's job is just to entertain tourists, an he does a bang up job. The trainer has a large pail of fruits and vegetables, and Lu opens his huge mouth waiting for some delectable bit to be tossed in--like a small watermelon, for example.
The alligators were much less entertaining. They are very patient, we were told, and will wait hours for a prey animal to get close before moving in for a meal.
The third and last show was a "Wildlife Encounter," that today featured a pair of young alligators. We learned about alligator feeding habits and how they are hatched and carried by their mothers down to the water.
The rest of our time was spent checking out the animals, especially the large collection of Florida birds in an aviary and lagoon. We saw lots of roseate spoonbills and herons and ibis, plus owls, wolves, a pair of bobcats, a Florida panther, and a pair of black bears. The most entertaining were the river otters. Playful, curious, and great swimmers, we admired their grace as they moved through the water.
We took a break between shows to eat our picnic lunch. An aggressive squirrel seemed determined to get some of our lunch. We had to yell at it and threaten to hit it with our backpacks to make it back off a bit.
All in all it was a very entertaining and educational day. I was especially glad to see the manatees. We walked down into the "fishbowl," a floating underwater viewing chamber, so we could see them under the surface.
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