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Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park In Florida
Photo Source: Me with my Canon 500D
When we were children and went on vacation, we usually had to write a composition in school when we came back, about what we did. I did some interesting things when I went away for two weeks and one of these things was going to Homosassa Springs. The park is located in west central Florida. You can enter it by car or by a boat ride that lasts about 20 minutes. My friends and I decided to enter the park by boat and I am happy I did because the ride was very interesting. When you get on the boat you ride up the Homosassa River. I must say the ride sort of makes you feel like Indiana Jones. The park used to be private property, but when the park was taken over by Florida, all the plants that were not native to the area were removed. The trip up the river is replete with over growth, alligators, turtles, snakes and birds of all kinds. You wouldn't want to go into the water, because not only are there alligators in it, but water moccasins make their home there and they are a very deadly snake.
Photos taken from boat on way to park Left: Some Growth One of the things I wanted to see the most as a non Floridian was an Alligator. There were plenty to go around. Looking at these creatures, it is hard to believe that they are not statues or that they can out run a human. The joke in Florida is always travel with someone slower than you when you go near water.
Lazy but deadly Photos 1 & 2 are the same gator from different angles Another animal that I had heard much about but never saw was the Manatee. They are usually submerged but they do breathe air. It is hard to catch a good look at them because they can fill their lungs with air so fast that you can barely see it happen. The Manatees are very gentle creatures and seem to have no enemies. This may be due to their huge size. When you see them in the water their back is usually the only part of them that are visible and this makes them look like a whale, but under the water they resemble a sea cow or seal. They are feed by dumping cases of cabbage, lettuce and carrots into the water where they are swimming. The rangers round them up and put them in a small pen filled with water and feed them there. They used to feed them in a large pond but there are now fish called sheepshead that have very sharp teeth in the pond. They don't normally bother the Manatee but at feeding time they are in such a rush to eat that they sometimes nip the creatures. There are many regulations protecting the Manatee such as you can't touch one using two hands. The pond that the Manatee swim in is so deep that no one knows how deep it goes. It is fed by an awesome underground spring. The park has a sort of concrete diving bell with windows that is stationary under the water and some of the following photos were taken through the windows of the bell, thus the green tint from the algae.
Photos 1-3 show a Manatee that was swimming by the window While I was down in the concrete diving bell I noticed something very strange. There were different schools of fish in the pond and as I looked at them through the green tinted windows, they were looking at me. At first I thought that it was my imagination but many other people noticed this. I began to wonder who was looking at who? It was almost laughable how tight some of the fish in the schools were packed together.
Photos 1- 4 show the schools of fish as they slowly swam by. Some stopped and stared right in our faces. After we left the concrete diving bell, we walked on the the trail which led around the park and the animals exhibited were sort of reminiscent of a standard zoo. I am not stating that there were any cages with bars but there were many fenced in areas. There is a Hippo that has been in the park for many years. This huge creature has a habit of spraying when he has to go and all are warned about this. It is not too smart to ever stand behind him as you can see by the marking on the fence and rocks around his area. This Hippo has some fame of sorts since he has appeared in several movies.
Hippo There are many different birds in the park. I am not a bird expert so there were many that I could not identify, and some that I could. I was struck by the bright pink color of some of the Flamingos. They looked more pink than the plastic copies. But why was it that some were very pink and others not as pink and some even almost white? I found out the answer to this and was quite surprised. Do you want to know why? OK I will tell you this odd fact. The more pink shrimp the Flamingos eat, the pinker they get, to a point. Some of the birds look like they could glow in the dark.
1 - 4 Flocks of Flamingos Flamingos were everywhere but were not the only birds in the park, here are some of the others:
Left to Right
Left to Right Sorry for the fact that I am not good at identifying birds. When we got to the Turkey my friend said "ah, dinner" which brought a look of disgust from a lady on my right. There were other animals in the park. We saw Deer, a Bear, a Cougar, Otters and a Fox. The Otters were having the most fun.
Left and Middle - Bear
Left and Middle - Fox I live near a very big city and have been to zoos all my life, but I still found Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park very interesting. Be warned however, if you go at a time when there hasn't been much rain, the boat ride won't run. The river falls below a certain point and is not deep enough for the boat. You will still be able to drive to the park and see all the exhibits. |
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