CMA turning famous dolphin’s former home into $10 million manatee rehabilitation site
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s most famous resident, Winter, is moving out of her old digs and injured manatees are moving in.
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is turning the famous dolphin’s former home into a rehabilitation site for manatees as their mortality rate increases due to boat strikes, starvation and red tide.
"When you look at what's going on in the wild, not only the red tide on the west coast, there's never been a better time for more people to get involved with how we deal with manatees in the wild," shared Dr. Buddy Powell, president of Clearwater Marine Aquarium. "That means being able to respond in a timely manner, not only to the injuries but also to the long-term problem that are facing the species."
Powell's plan is to utilize that space to care for sick and injured manatees while allowing the public to see the patients’ progress in this new exhibit.
"The education component here at Clearwater Marine Aquarium is extremely important," stated Powell. "In reality, we're a hospital; and so, when we're bringing animals in here we're hoping that we can get them back out into the wild."
The exhibit allows the visitors to see the marine animals being cared for and helps them understand the contributing factors to the animals' injuries in the first place.
READ Baby manatee is the smallest rescued orphan calf ZooTampa has ever treated
"I am over the top excited to be able to see the organization that I'm now associated with getting involved in the rescue and the rehabilitation and release of these manatees," said Powell. "ZooTampa right now is at capacity, their bed space is at capacity. (And) We really need another site on this west coast."
Since the former ‘Winter Zone’ will be under construction, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium will be using its Fred Howard Park Facility to aid and assist any manatees that are in need over the next few months.
The project is expected to cost $10 million and could take two to three years to complete.
To report an injured or sick marine animal contact CMA’s 24-hour rescue hotline at 727 441-1790 x 1.
LINK: To learn more about CMA’s Manatee Rehabilitation Center here.
CONNECT WITH FOX 13: