FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 26, 2017
STATE PARK CELEBRATES
LU THE HIPPO'S 57TH BIRTHDAY
~State park and local children celebrate
popular hippo’s birthday~
 Lu waits for his birthday cake.
HOMOSASSA, Fla. – The
Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park celebrated Lu, its resident hippopotamus’ 57th birthday with two special birthday
parties today.
"Lu delights visitors of all ages and helps us encourage our visitors to learn about Florida's unique natural environment," said Park Manager Kim Tennille. "We are happy to give him a great birthday party in return for the happiness he brings our visitors everyday."
Lu has been a longtime resident of Homosassa Springs Wildlife
State Park and has many fans around the world. Students from several day care centers joined park staff in
wishing Lu a happy 57th birthday with a special birthday song, written and performed by park volunteer Vicky
Iozzia. Lu enjoyed a bread birthday cake made specifically for a hippo.
In the afternoon, another party took place during the park’s
alligator and hippopotamus program, so park visitors had another opportunity to join in the birthday
celebration of Florida’s only resident hippopotamus. A giant birthday
card was also available for visitors to sign to wish Lu a happy birthday. Lu's fans around
the world can also send him a birthday greeting on his Facebook
page.
Lu, an African Hippopotamus, was born at the San Diego Zoo on
Jan. 26, 1960. He weighed 90 pounds at birth and now weighs more than 6,000
pounds. Lu, like all hippos, is a vegetarian and his typical diet consists of alfalfa hay and assorted vegetables and fruit.
A fixture at Homosassa Springs since 1964, Lu was a movie and
television star with the Ivan Tors Animal Actors troupe, which wintered at the
park while it was in private ownership. His credits include the 1960s movies "Daktari"
and "Cowboy in Africa," and television specials such as the "Art
Linkletter Show" and "Herb Alpert Special."
For more than four decades, Lu has been a mainstay among the
animals at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. When the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection’s Florida Park Service purchased the attraction in
1989, the state planned to shift the emphasis of the park to native Florida
wildlife and find homes for all of the exotic species, including Lu. Public
support, however, led the state to grant Lu special Florida citizenship in
1991. Since then, he has become an icon at the park, attracting visitors from around the globe.
For more information about Homosassa Springs State Park, visit the park's webpage.
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