Dedicated September 24, 2008 – A Partnership in Parks Project

This new state-of-the-art Felburn Wildlife Care Center expands facilities for the care of Florida’s native wildlife at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. The new facility was made possible through a generous donation from the Felburn Foundation to the Friends of Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park, Inc. This was matched with state funds as a Partnership in Parks* project.

The 8,000 square foot Felburn Wildlife Care Center encompasses a commissary for animal diets, a veterinary clinic, offices, intern/biologist/researcher housing for up to four persons and a wildlife quarantine section. The wildlife quarantine is a restricted area consisting of ten multi-use bays: six are 10’ by 10’, and two can convert to 10’ by 20’. Each concrete bay is constructed with nine-gauge core galvanized, one-inch chain link strong enough to hold Black Bears and Florida Panthers.

The new wildlife care center is double the size of the former facility and will aid in the recovery of the native wildlife including such endangered species as West Indian Manatee, Key Deer, Red Wolves and Whooping Cranes.

*The Partnership in Parks program, established in 1996 by the Florida