Lu, the oldest hippo in America, has died

Lu at Homosassa Springs in January 2025

After decades as a resident and citizen of Homosassa, Florida, Lu, the oldest hippopotamus in America, has passed away in his sixth decade on Earth.

Lu, also known as Lucifer, arrived at the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park in the 1960s, when the park was still a zoo/roadside attraction. Lu was part of an "animal actors" program set up by television producer Ivan Tors, after a flood at Africa USA, a California park that housed animal actors with animal trainer Ralph Helfer. Years later, after the zoo had been converted to a nonprofit state wildlife park, Lu was granted Florida citizenship by then governor Lawton Chiles, which allowed him to stay at the park to live out his life.

I have known Lu for almost my entire life. I first visited Homosassa Springs in May 2000, and have visited him on almost every trip to Florida since then. As a kid, I was obsessed with hippopotami, and it saddens me to lose such a piece of my childhood in this way. Homosassa Springs will never be the same.

A photo I took of Lu in 2000.

Much of Lu's origin is unverified and contradictory — including his age. Homosassa Springs states Lu was born at the San Diego Zoo in 1960 and came to the park in 1964, after starring in Tors-produced shows like Daktari and Cowboy in Africa. I conducted extensive research on Lu/Lucifer in my podcast series Aw, Would You Look at the Time in 2020, which disputes many of his origin claims — mainly that there is no record of a hippo being born at the San Diego Zoo in 1960, substantial evidence that Lu came to the zoo in 1969, and inconsistent information about whether Lu actually had any screen time. I will embed the podcast episodes about this here.

Part 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnKjsAMHlWI

Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tlUZ4F8Xlg

The park states Lu has died at 65, but from my research, it is more likely Lu died at the age of 61.

I have reached out to Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park about funeral arrangements for Lu and will report back when I get more information.