Clearwater Marine Aquarium

The CMA is all about rescue and research.  Their most famous rescuee is the dolphin, Winter.  As a youngster, probably on a few months old, she became entangled in a crabpot line.  It was so tightly wound around her that she was severely injured.  We she was found over on the Atlantic side of Florida, they were not sure if she would even survive the journey across the state much less be able survive long term.  Winter was a true fighter and not only made it those first terrible weeks but even learned to thrive in her new circumstances.  She eventually lost her tail completely.  The time spent wrapped in the line cut off all blood flow causing the tissue to die.  She was fitted with a unique prosthesis which allowed her to swim with a more natural motion, preventing injury to her spine. If you watch the movie A Dolphin's Tale, you can see the whole fantastic story.  She has been an inspiration to all those who face physical challenges.  I can't recommend the aquarium and the movie enough.  In fact, A Dolphin's Tale 2 is in my queue!

This is Winter swimming in her tank with her handler on a platform over the tank.
You can clearly see her missing tale and most important for swimming, her flukes.

For a fee, tourists can meet her up close.  They are giving her water to keep
her hydrated.  They explalined that they have to supplement all the animals since
most of their food comes to them frozen and the freezing process removes water.

Every day, Winter is given a massage to keep those muscles used when her prosthesis is attached.
We did not ever see her swim with the tale.  She can't wear it constantly or else sore spots will develop.
A dolphin's skin is much more delicate than human skin and more prone to damage.

This is Winter's friend, Hope.  She is in the new movie.  She was having a lot of fun
tossing this toy made of PVC around her tank that adjoins Winter's.  I think she wanted
some of the attention that is being lavished on the tank next door.

There were several turtles that had a variety of problems.  They are all lucky that
the marine rescue is there for them as none would survive in the wild.  Some have misshappened
shells either with bubbles or depressions in their shells.  Both situations all make them unable to dive
underwater for food.  Some turtles also have a virus that cause life threatening tumors.  The CMA
has quite the surgical suite to keep all the animals in the best shape possible.

This cute little guy, a river otter,  was rescued from a driveway.  He had been hit by a car
leaving him paralized in the lower extremities.  This causing him to move slowly on his shelf but
he still seemed to enjoy swimming around in his tank.  There were a few other otters nearby
undergoing rehab.  The goal of rescue is to rehab the animal and get them back into the wild.
Obviously not every animal can make it back.

Many of the tanks had hermit crabs.  This one came out enough to show off.

One of the pools had several rays.  They were popular since we were allowed to pet them.

This ray loved being petted.  He would turn and come back for more.
Maybe it's just David's animal magnetism.

Lemon sharks were in another tank.  No clue as to what their need for rescue is.

One of the "shows" was a demonstration of feeding some of the turtles.  They
have to train them to come to their symbol only.  This is how the staff ensures that
one turtle doesn't hog all the food.

This was the boat built for the movie.  We weren't allowed on board but it
was fun to see.

Another view of the boat.

This little guy's name is Nicholas.  He and his mom were stranded when he was a baby.
She died and before he could be rescued, his delicate skin was severely burned.  The scars are still
visible on his back.

We took a short boat ride over to the other side of the channel.  On the mainland,
they have a huge setup of several of the movie sets.  None of those pictures turned out but it
was definitely worth the visit.  In both locations, there are short films explaining the mission
of the CMA and bits about how the films were made.