lDecember 17, 2009
In my opinion, the two main attractions at Homasassa Springs (recently renamed the Ellie Schiller Homasassa Springs State Park) are the Manatees and Big Lu.
My understanding is that the only County in the country named after a water mammal is Manatee County Florida. This county sits on the West Coast of Florida (Gulf Side), and Bradenton is its county seat. Manatees are very special. They have no known living predators. They are warm water animals and can die if subjected to cold water (68°) for prolonged periods of time. They are endangered, however, due to loss of habitat, motor boat propellers and various and sundry diseases caused by parasites, bacteria or viruses. They are gentle and terribly nosey. Although they have good hearing, they do not have noise perception (they cannot tell from whence a sound come) and cannot hear the high pitch of things like boat motors.
There are six females in residence at Homasassa. In the Homasassa River they are many in the wild, but there are bars that separate the captives from the wild. In any sanctuary for manatees, there are either males or females. Both are not kept in the same facility. The baby manatee remains with its mother for three years. If a captive manatee mates, her offspring cannot be released to the wild. So, they are kept separate to prevent this problem. The six are named. Rosey is the biggest. I get the others confused. But, there is one Mama and two of her offspring. One calf came with her into the sanctuary. Nobody believed manatees mated in captivity. But, Lo and Behold, the Mama did. That is why the males and females are kept in different preserves.
Four of the other five are Amanda, Ariel, Betsy and Lorelei. I can't remember the name of the last one. The park has a “feeding” show a couple times a day. I swear that the manatee wear watches. Around 11:00 am, they come to the area where the demonstration of their feeding will happen. The “show” is at 11:30. They are vegetarians and eat yams, carrots, lettuce, cabbage—all restaurant quality. Believe it or not the manatees’ DNA is most closely related to that of an elephants’. Their front feet look very much like the front feet of an elephant. They have some body hair similar to their large relative. There are many other similarities.
The park has an observation platform over the river where one (depending on the day—animals are not inclined to do what we want most of the time) can watch the wild manatees in the river. They kind of look like huge floating rocks, whose nose pops up occasionally to breath.
They are definitely fun to watch.
BIG LU
Who or what is Big Lu? I can tell you that Steve and I intend to attend his fiftieth birthday party on January 26, 2010. So, big deal, many people go to a birthday party for age fifty. Well, betcha, your party is not for a very big hippo. That’s right. Big Lu will be 50. He was born in the San Diego zoo on January 26, 1960. A ninety pound bouncing baby boy. As he grew, he starred in many movies and television shows—“Cowboy in Africa,” “Daktari.” Then the bouncing baby boy grew too big. Some how he found his way to Homasassa Springs. After the State of Florida purchased the park from its former owners, they decided that the animals that would use this as their habitat would be native to Florida. So, the lions, tigers, etc. were moved. But, the locals loved Big Lu. So (it must have been an election year) the late Governor Lawton Chiles made Lu an honorary resident of Florida. He will live his life at Homasassa.
Sometimes Big Lu just lays on his beach. Sometimes, he paddles around in his pool. His big show is his eating, maybe! He is a vegetarian. Sometimes, he shows no particular interest in the chunks of melon thrown to him by a park ranger—watermelon, honeydew, or cantaloupe. Sometimes, his mouth is wide open for these favored treats. When he is interested, he paddles to the wall and opens his mouth ever so wide. It is rather amazing how big it is.
Behind Lu’s beach is a sign “Splatter Zone.” You might guess what this is all about. This biological function seems to be the biggest attraction of his. One of my friends with her eleven year old grandson and six year old granddaughter, her daughter and Steve and I went several months ago. There is a mailbox in the education center where children can write letters to the animals. The young man with us wrote a letter to Lu asking him to poop while we were there. And Lu obliged! Massive bubbling water and some outside splatter. If one is down wind, well, you can imagine. Well, we were there most recently, Lu, once again obliged. This time he managed to hit the wall. I am sure there was some splatter there, but we were on the opposite side of the pool. While we were standing there, a young mother with a tiny little girl (three or four years old) arrived just after Lu’s exhibition. The little girl was extremely disappointed that she had missed it. The gift shop sells duplicate signs of “Splatter Zone.” It is a big seller. Frankly, I don’t quite get the excitement over this function, but apparently, it is the BIG attraction. (I’d rather see him eat). But it is what it is, I guess! And, no matter what, I would like to be there for his birthday party. Our annual passes expire shortly after his birthday, so I won’t be paying extra for this exciting time.
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