Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

On Sunday, Oct 13, the day before our final TTS hop, Jett and I visited the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park which was just a mile from our RV site. We almost didn’t go as it was competing with a large annual seafood festival in Homosassa Springs, which also sounded interesting. But I had seen the crowds at the festival and it looked like it might be a hassle just getting there, so we opted for the more “gentle” outing to the state park.

We are glad we did.

This is a beautiful state park/zoo. It offers wonderfully landscaped walkways, interesting animals and opportunities for photos at every turn. We were there just over 2 hours and I snapped over 50 photos. And the weather cooperated – low 70’s, sunny, light breeze. A great day to enjoy the wildlife.

The park had a long history as a private tourist attraction and was home to a number of animals that appeared in Hollywood films. The only one remaining – and the only resident animal not native to Florida – is “Lu”, a 60-year-old hippo that was made an “honorary resident of Florida” and is being allowed to live out her life in this beautiful park. Lu spends most of her time in the water and enjoys drinking fresh water from a hose.

Most of the animals in the park are ones that were injured, rescued and treated, but were, due to their injuries, unable to survive in the wild. The bald eagle – minus a right wing – is one such animal.

The injured birds, because they can’t fly, were in open enclosures. There were also many other birds – including lots of vultures and herons – that were also free to come and go as they pleased, but they obviously chose the park as there were hundreds of them. Free food, I imagine. But it was a memorable up-close-and-personal encounter with some very large vultures.

The highlight, though, was the manatee feeding and the below-water-line observation deck. This was a wonderful opportunity to see manatees as they were feeding. There are 3 manatees – the “ladies” that are permanent residents of the park, but during the winter months the gates are opened and other manatees enter the park to bask in the 70-degree spring water. These are huge (2,000 pounds), lumbering beasts. A sight to see.