Homosassa Springs: Where a Hollywood Hippo Became an Honorary Floridian

Long before it became a state park, Homosassa Springs was drawing crowds. Trains stopped here in the early 1900s so passengers could walk a short trail to see a first-magnitude spring pumping 67 million gallons of crystal-clear water a day. By the 1940s, the place had earned the nickname “Nature’s Giant Fish Bowl,” and visitors could peer into the spring from an observation tower to watch fish swirl through water so clear it hardly looked like water at all.

From Tourist Trap to State Park

In 1964, the Norris Development Company bought the property and turned it into Homosassa Springs “Nature’s Own Attraction.” They brought in exotic animals, built out the trails, and installed a 180-ton floating underwater observatory right over the main spring vent. Getting it there was a production in itself. The massive structure was assembled on a ramp in Ocala, then slid into the spring on hundreds of bananas to avoid polluting the water with grease. The idea reportedly came from an old slapstick movie.

The state acquired the park in 1989 and shifted the focus to native Florida wildlife. Today the boardwalks wind past Florida panthers, black bears, red wolves, bobcats, river otters, and alligators, all in natural-feeling enclosures. But the real draw has always been the spring itself and the manatees that gather there, especially from October through April when hundreds seek out the warm 72-degree water.

Lu the Hippo: Hollywood Star, Florida Citizen

The park’s most famous resident was never native to Florida at all. Lu the hippopotamus was born at the San Diego Zoo in 1960 and came to Homosassa in 1964 after a career in Hollywood, where he appeared on shows like Daktari and the Art Linkletter Show as part of the Ivan Tors Animal Actors troupe. His full name was Lucifer, but everyone called him Lu.

When the state took over and decided only native Florida species could stay, the community erupted. Residents launched a petition drive that reached Governor Lawton Chiles, who solved the problem by making Lu an honorary citizen of Florida in 1991. The designation meant Lu could never be removed from Homosassa Springs. He stayed for more than sixty years, becoming the park’s beloved mascot and one of the oldest known hippos in the world before passing away in June 2025 at the age of 65.

Still Worth the Drive

Homosassa Springs sits about 75 miles north of Tampa on the Nature Coast, a stretch of Gulf shoreline where strip malls give way to spring-fed rivers and salt marshes. The underwater observatory lets you stand below the surface and watch manatees drift past at eye level. Daily manatee programs run at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The park is also home to a manatee rehabilitation facility, where injured animals recover before being released back into the wild. It is one of the few places in Florida where the old roadside attraction era and serious conservation work exist in the same space.

Official page: Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park