Animal Spotlight: Winter

Animal spotlight is something new! It is a chance for us to give you a detailed explanation of a resident at CMA! Who better to start off with than the most famous dolphin in the world, Winter!

Winter is an amazing dolphin who will always make you smile no matter what! She got her tail stuck in a crab pot when she was around two months old, and unfortunately  the tail had to be removed because of the severity of the injuries. Winter got a prosthetic tail made by Kevin Carroll and his team, which saved her life. Without the tail Winter would have gotten severe paralysis, which would have made it very painful for her to swim. Winter overcame all odds and survived! She is the star of Dolphin Tale, and has thousands of people visit her each year at her home, Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

~Written by Katie~

A Little Bit About Katie!

Hi everyone! I am Katie! I have been to CMA once before and I am going back very soon! I love Winter and I have a site, www.savewinter.yolasite.com that helps me raise money for her and CMA! I was EXTREMELY lucky to have been able to meet/feed Winter! She is truly an inspiration, and so is her trainer, Abby Stone! I got to play with all 4 dolphins, and Oscar when I was there!

Me and Hope!

Meet the Otters!

 I will introduce the 3 current otters living at CMA, Cooper, Oscar, and Walle.

     This is Oscar he was found near a dumpster on May 21st, 2009 by the SPCA and transported to CMA. They do not know how he got there, what happened to his mother, and where she was. When he got there, he very dehytrated and had low blood sugars which mean he hadn't eaten in sevral hours. Since he was very young he had to be bottle fed. He needed to be fed 2-3 hours and watched 24/7. As he grew older he started to eat fish and taught how to swim. He could not be released because he didn't learned the things he would need to learn from his mother.

       This is Cooper, CMA recues him on July 21, 2001 he was found in a pirvate citizens garage. Cooper was dehydrated and very skinny due to lack of food when he was rescued. He had more serious injuries then that. He had continual abrasions and abscesses along his back, worn pads and nails, and part paralsis in his rear legs. They think that these injuries are from him being run over by a motor vehicle. Throughout his rehabilitation process he has regained some mobility in his hind legs, however, he is still unable to fully support his body on land and walk around.

             This is Walle he was rescued from the wild by a person. He raised him on his boat he thought that he was doing a good job by keeping him as a pet. As Walle grew older his owner soon realized that raising a otter is very hard and not like raising an ordinary household pet. He thought he could release him back into the wild, but found out that he couldn't. They made sure that he didn't have any toxins or diseases then afterwards he was transported to CMA!

~Written by Shana~

Meet the Dolphins!

I will introduce you to the dolphin residents! There are 4 dolphins currently living at CMA, Winter, Hope, Panama and Nicholas. They were all rescued from the ocean.

Winter is an inspiring little dolphin. She was rescued December 10th, 2005, off the coast of Mosquito Lagoon in Florida. She is such a sweetheart and always makes me smile. She is truly an incredible dolphin. I had the amazing chance to meet her last time I went to CMA and it was the best time in my life. Winter lost her tail when she was two months old. After overcoming many challenges, a prosthetic tail was made for her.

Hope is the youngest dolphin at CMA. She was rescued December 11th, 2011, also off the coast of Mosquito Lagoon. Hope is so sweet and playful. I got to spend a lot of time with her when I last went to CMA and that is something I will always cherish because I was able to establish a bond between her and I!

Panama is the oldest dolphin at CMA. She was rescued in October 2000 and has been at CMA ever since. She was rescued near Panama City, FL, so that is where she got her name. She is so full of love and happiness. Panama sure knows how to capture people's hearts. Panama is "Winter's adoptive mother."

Nicholas is the only male dolphin at CMA. He was rescued December 24th, 2002. His was rescued with his mother, who was named Noelle, but unfortunately she passed away soon after. Nicholas suffered 3rd degree burns, but he doesn't let that stop him from being happy. Nicholas LOVES getting people soaked!

~Written by Katie~