Frequently Asked Questions about Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

Question: What does the word Homosassa mean?
Answer: "Homosassa" comes from the Seminole and Creek Indian languages and means "place where the wild peppers grow." Holly bushes used to grow in abundance along the banks of the Homosassa River. The Indians may have referred to the holly bushes as peppers.

Question: How far is it from the main spring inside the park to the Gulf of Mexico?
Answer: The river runs for 9 miles until it reaches the Gulf of Mexico.

Question: How many gallons of water flow from the main spring?
Answer: Homosassa Springs is a second-magnitude spring and produces millions of gallons of water every hour.

Question: Why are there more saltwater fish in the spring than freshwater?
Answer: The amount of flow from the spring has decreased over the years and there are many small saltwater springs along the river. As a result there is enough salinity in the water to make it an acceptable habitat for saltwater fish.

Question: Why does the park have an African Hippopotamus?
Answer: Since Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park’s focus is on native Florida wildlife, visitors are surprised to see an African Hippopotamus in residence. The hippopotamus first came to live at the park, then called Homosassa Springs Attraction, when it was a commercial, privately-owned attraction. The hippo, a retired star of movies and television was part of Ivan Tors Animal Actors. These animals wintered at the attraction during the late 1960’s. The hippo became very popular with visitors through the years and was one of the animals who became a permanent resident after the Ivan Tors Animal Actors moved out of the attraction.

When the State of Florida purchased the Park it set about finding new homes for the exotic animals. Local residents who didn’t want to see the hippo relocated wrote thousands of letters asking the State to allow the hippo to remain at the park. Governor Lawton Chiles made the hippopotamus an honorary citizen of the State of Florida and allowed him to live out the rest of his life at the park.

Question: Why are there only female manatees inside the park’s manatee rehabilitation area?
Answer: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has jurisdiction over all captive manatees and decided to separate male and female manatees in facilities with captive animals to prevent captive breeding of manatees. The goal is to concentrate on rescuing; rehabilitating and releasing injured and orphaned manatees.

Question: What can we do as individuals to help save the endangered manatees?
Answer: Individuals can help the endangered manatees by learning as much as they can about these marine mammals. If you see what appears to be an injured or orphaned manatee in the wild, you should report it to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission by calling 1-888-404-FWCC.

Question: Why are there so many birds living in the park around the alligator lagoon?
Answer: Locations that are populated with alligators often become natural sites for bird rookeries.

Question: Where does the spring water come from?
Answer: From 20 to 30 miles around the springhead.