Lucifer the famous hippopotamus has died at Homosassa Springs in Florida

Lucifer, the oldest-known living hippopotamus in the Americas , died on Sunday after decades as a fixture for adoring fans at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.Lovingly nicknamed Lu, the African hippopotamus was 65. He “passed away peacefully,” the Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced.For more than 60 years, Lu has been a lumbering, wrinkly symbol of Homosassa Springs, helping to shape the community’s past and present.In recent years, his age began to catch up to him. Lu, far surpassing the life expectancy of a typical hippopotamus, began taking handfuls of ibuprofen and was lathered in lotion made of aloe and honey.Lu weathered hurricanes. He ate watermelons like grapes. He delighted visitors and caretakers with his hearty, honking “laughs.” And a warning sign stood outside Lu’s enclosure cautioning visitors of his, ahem, splatter zone. The non-native animal had, oddly enough, become a living pillar of Florida’s peculiar history.Each day, in the morning and evening, Tom Linley, a park manager from 1990 to 2004, would bellow to Lu. Each time, Lu would bellow back, Linley said in a phone call with the Tampa Bay Times Monday. “He is an animal in that park that really had personality and charisma,” Linley said. Lu was born at the San Diego Zoo in 1960 and found his way to Homosassa Springs four years later when he was sold to Ivan Tors, the writer-director of animal-themed movies like Flipper and Daktari , in which Lu was featured. When the animal troupe was not filming, they stayed at Homosassa Springs. Before Walt Disney World, it was the odd roadside attraction that pulled in tourists to the wild state. Over the years, the park featured unusual animals, like Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion and a donkey named Susie, who often led Lu around. In 1989, the Florida Park Service acquired Homosassa Springs, and the state sought to return the park’s spirit back to native Florida animals. Lu, decidedly not native, had an uncertain future there. Linley sold geese and peacocks to private owners and got bids from zoological facilities for the monkeys, but Lu was a wrinkle. After decades of Lu’s steady presence at the park, locals had fallen for the animal. Public outcry led to a letter-writing campaign that reached then-Gov. Lawton Chiles. “The community was very strongly opinionated about their love for the hippopotamus, and in the end the governor said he can stay,” Linley said. Chiles granted Lu honorary Florida citizenship in 1991. It helped cement Lu’s legacy, and to Linley, it made him a representation of the community’s investment in the park. From 1990 to Linley’s departure, the park’s annual volunteer hours increased from 6,000 — the equivalent of about three full-time employees — to 10 times that.The park features other captive animals, like alligators, black bears and manatees, which cannot survive in the wild, according to the state. In January, a recovering female manatee drowned at the park after employees left her unattended and she became trapped. Kate Pratt, a park services specialist for Homosassa Springs, told the Tampa Bay Times on Monday that the park was not commenting on Lu’s death. By Monday afternoon, more than 500 people had commented on a Facebook post announcing Lu’s passing. “He was an icon that will be greatly missed at the park,” wrote Christine DeMayo.“I’m glad he can rest, and I’m grateful for his years of service in bringing the wonder of wildlife to multiple generations,” wrote Robbie J. Morrison. “He is in the story of so many families, for generations,” wrote Kelly Wilson. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection said it would place a memorial at the park for Lu and said in a statement that he will by deeply missed. “Lu is survived in spirit by the devoted park rangers who cared for him, the millions of visitors whose lives he touched and the wildlife community he helped anchor,” the statement said. Material from Times archives supplements this story. The Tampa Bay Times launched the Environment Hub in 2025 to focus on some of Florida‘s most urgent and enduring challenges. You can contribute through our journalism fund by clicking here .

Lucifer the famous hippopotamus has died at Homosassa Springs in Florida

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