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Post date: Mar 04, 2017 2:47:27 AM
With my wife joining me for a few days on the trip, community college visits have been put on hold. Despite what was probably too much time spent walking on strained ligaments, we did do some admittedly touristy things in Orlando (Harry Potter nerds, not Disney) but we are both not big theme park aficionados. I think we both prefer the natural to the artificial and so it was that after seeing the Atlantic coast we immediately took off and rode over 200 miles to the Gulf Coast side of the state of Florida, where we started looking for Manatees and Pirates.
No pirates were found, only pirate themed boat tour, dinner theater, and put-put gold courses… After visiting with friends in the area we ended up in Crystal River, a lovely community on the gulf side of the Florida Peninsula north of Tampa Bay. This is an area where the interface between land and water is ill defined. The entire state of Florida is mostly at sea level leading to many lakes and swamps, but in the area of Crystal River the rivers are also feed by underground springs that bring fresh water swelling up from underground to feed the marshlands. In the winter these springs provide warm water, and are places where endangered manatees congregate. The manatee is not only threatened by habitat reduction and outboard motor accidents it is also not a very good thermo regulator, so in winter months when the water gets cold they need to stay warm. Manatees do this by heading to the fresh water spring sites. It turns out that this winter the ocean waters have been relatively warm in the gulf, so no wild manatees were spotted at the natural springs we visited this week.
However, just south of Crystal River is Homosassa Springs. Homosassa Springs is also a site where subterranean fresh water feeds the marshes that flow into the Gulf. But years ago attempts were made at Homosassa to turn the area into a resort and tourist attraction. An event that failed but left a wonderful legacy, at one point an area of the springs was turned into an exotic animal park with pontoon boat rides and everything (think Disney “Adventure Land” type attraction, where guides narrate the flora and animals to be seen as the boat glides along…). This venture too did not succeed, and when it failed the whole site was turned over to the State and turned into the Ellie Shiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. Instead of keeping the exotic pets all non-native animals (except one!) were adopted out to other homes and the state park was turned into a sort of rehab facility for native endangered or threatened species. It still has the option of taking a boat trip to the main park but park rangers now narrate the trip.
At the park proper there are an amazing assortment of native animals from alligators to owls and otters. Some animals are housed in isolation others with their species in small groups. The most fascinating section was the birds. Because, some birds are in rehab or permanent care and cannot fly part of the bird sanctuary is open to the air. They feed the birds in residence so this brings in flocks of other birds that recognize a free lunch and a good thing when they see it, and the entire area is teaming with all sorts of avian life comingling together. (Observation: Want multiple races to get along in a dense urban setting, just make sure you welcome everybody and feed them all well) One fascinating section of the park was an unwater observatory that was built right over the freshwater stream outlet. Here fish congregate in large numbers, soaking in the fresh warm water from the spring efflux. Again these were not aquarium fish in a closed environment but wild fish that could be viewed as close range, and hung out with multiple species in a small space…
But of course the most charming part of it was finding the manatees, some of which were in rehab tanks and other in the larger lagoon. As one diver told us the manatees are like cats, some come right up to you and are curious others are standoffish. If you want to get along with a manatee, move slowly. Manatees are not creatures that respond to quick movements. After a few passive moments with one of the juveniles in isolation he rolled over to show us his belly…. and I was besmitten…
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