Clearwater Marine Aquarium facts for kids
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| Date opened | 1972 (As Clearwater Marine Science Center) |
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| Location | Clearwater, Florida, United States |
| Coordinates | 27°58′37″N 82°49′09″W / 27.97686°N 82.81907°W |
| No. of species | 59 |
| Volume of largest tank | 1.5 million gallons |
| Annual visitors | 750,000 |
| Major exhibits | 17 |
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a special place in Clearwater, Florida. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping sick and injured marine animals. Their main goals are to rescue, heal, and then release animals back into the wild. They also teach people about ocean life, work to protect marine environments, and do important research.
The aquarium first opened in 1972. It is located right on Clearwater Beach. The building used to be a water treatment plant. Its large pools were perfect for helping animals get better. Many marine animals live at the aquarium permanently. These animals have serious injuries that mean they cannot go back to the ocean.
One of the most famous residents was Winter. She was a bottlenose dolphin rescued in 2005. Her tail got caught in a crab trap, and she lost it. The aquarium gave her a special prosthetic (fake) tail. This brought a lot of attention to the aquarium. Winter even starred in the 2011 movie Dolphin Tale. She also appeared in the sequel, Dolphin Tale 2. Parts of both movies were filmed at the aquarium.
Contents
History of the Aquarium
In 1972, a group of volunteers wanted to create a marine biology center. They started the Clearwater Marine Science Center (CMSC). In 1978, the city of Clearwater gave them an old water treatment plant. This building was perfect with its big pools and location by the bay. In 1979, Dennis Kellenberger became the director. He taught classes and helped remodel the building.
The building slowly changed to fit the aquarium's needs. In 1980, it got a special permit. This allowed it to prepare two large pools for dolphins and sea turtles. The first exhibit room opened to the public in 1981. It showed old fish exhibits from a place called Sea-Orama. Over the next few years, the CMSC grew with help from donations and volunteers.
In 1984, the CMSC rescued "Sunset Sam." He was an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. He was the first dolphin in Florida to survive being stranded. Sunset Sam could not be released due to health problems. He became the CMSC's first resident dolphin. He even learned to paint! Selling his paintings helped fund the aquarium's work.
In the 1990s, the facility's name changed to Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA). This showed its growing connection with the community. In 2005, Winter, the famous dolphin, was rescued. She lost her tail after getting tangled in a crab trap. CMA worked with experts to create her prosthetic tail. Winter's story made CMA famous worldwide. It inspired the movies Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2. Both movies were partly filmed at the aquarium.
Meet the Animals
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is home to many different marine animals. These include manatees, North American river otters, Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, Rough-toothed dolphins, green sea turtles, Kemp's ridley sea turtles, cownose rays, southern stingrays, nurse sharks, and great white pelicans. They also have various fish like gag, hogfish, and red drum.
Every animal living permanently at CMA cannot return to the wild. This is because of their injuries or other health issues. Experts decide that CMA is the best place for them to live. This is due to the great care and facilities the aquarium provides.
Dolphins Living at CMA
Hope
Hope is a dolphin who lives at CMA. She was found in December 2010. She was a tiny 2-month-old calf, trying to nurse from her mother who had died. Hope was too young to survive alone. She had not learned how to live in the wild. So, she became a permanent resident. Hope co-starred in Dolphin Tale 2. She enjoys playing with squirt guns and bubbles.
Nicholas
Nicholas is an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. For many years, he was the only male dolphin at CMA. He was rescued on December 24, 2002. He was a 6-month-old calf found stranded with his mother. His mother died a few days later. Nicholas was very sick and had bad sunburns. CMA staff gave him 24-hour care. They bottle-fed him and treated his wounds.
Nicholas could not be released because he was too young when rescued. He never learned survival skills from his mother. Nicholas lives in the Ruth & J.O. Stone Dolphin Complex. He lives with Hope and Izzy. Nicholas appeared briefly in Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2. He is known for picking winners of sports games as part of his fun activities.
Rudolph
Rudolph, or Rudy, is CMA's first rough-toothed dolphin resident. He was found near Sanibel Island in December 2019. He became a permanent resident because he could not hear well enough for echolocation. Echolocation is how dolphins use sound to find things. Rudy lives with Rosie, another rough-toothed dolphin.
Izzy
Izzy is a female Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. She is about 8 years old. She was rescued in June 2022 in Texas. People had interacted with her illegally for years. This made her sick, so she needed rescue. She arrived at CMA on November 4, 2022. Today, she lives with Hope and Nicholas. She loves playing with her favorite disc toy.
Rosie
Rosie is CMA’s newest rough-toothed dolphin. She was found stranded in February 2023. She cannot be released because she is deaf. This means she cannot echolocate. Rosie lives with Rudy, the aquarium’s other rough-toothed dolphin.
Dolphins Who Lived at CMA
Winter
Winter was the most famous dolphin at the aquarium. She was a female Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. She was rescued on December 10, 2005. She got caught in a crab trap and lost her tail. Winter learned to swim without a tail. But this was hurting her spine. So, a special prosthetic tail was made for her. Winter starred in the 2011 movie Dolphin Tale. She also inspired the 2014 sequel Dolphin Tale 2. She lived in the Ruth & J.O. Stone Dolphin Complex. Winter passed away on November 11, 2021, at 16 years old.
PJ
PJ (short for Panama Junior) was a female Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. She was rescued in August 2018. At about 51 years old, she was the oldest rescued dolphin at CMA. PJ was found in shallow water in Old Tampa Bay. She recovered well but could not be released. She had many health issues, including hearing and vision loss, worn teeth, and arthritis. PJ passed away in October 2022 from natural causes.
Hemingway
Hemingway was a male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. He was found stranded at Fiesta Key, Florida, in 2019. After treatment at SeaWorld, he moved to CMA. Hemingway became a permanent resident due to health issues and hearing loss. He passed away in January 2023 at about 37 years old.
Apollo
Apollo was a male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. He was found stranded at Playalinda, Florida, in May 2021. He was thin and had parasites. A hearing test showed he had hearing loss. In December 2021, he moved to CMA and became a permanent resident. At about 2 years old, he was the youngest dolphin at CMA. Apollo passed away in June 2023 at 4 years old due to a brain condition.
Rex
Rex was one of the aquarium's first rough-toothed dolphins. He was found on St. George Island in April 2019. He was about 5 to 7 years old. Rex had significant hearing loss. He became a permanent resident and lived with Rudolph. Rex passed away in March 2023.
Manatees
CMA opened its Manatee Rehabilitation Center in the summer of 2024. It welcomed its first patients on July 30, 2024. These patients are two young male manatees named Yeti and Zamboni. They were rescued in early 2024 because they were suffering from cold. They are now getting care at CMA. The hope is that they will be released back into the wild.
North American River Otters
The aquarium has three North American river otters. Walle was rescued as a baby otter. He became too used to humans. Boomer arrived in 2018 from another facility. He is now Walle's good friend. The newest otter is Opie. He is a young otter who was attacked by a dog. This caused an injury to his eye. Opie lost his natural instincts during his recovery. He came to CMA in March 2024 for more care. All three otters live in the "Otter Oasis" exhibit.
Pelicans
Four great white pelicans live at the aquarium: Ricky, Tyndall, Skylar, and Matthew. They are the only residents not native to Florida. Ricky was trained to play "Rufus" in the movies Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2.
Sea Turtles
Clearwater Marine Aquarium has one loggerhead, nine green sea turtles, and two Kemp's ridley sea turtles. Many were rescued by CMA. They were hit by boats, tangled in fishing lines, or had other injuries. These injuries mean they cannot go back to the wild. They live permanently in the "Turtle Cove," "Turtle Bayou," and "Mavis's Rescue Hideaway" exhibits.
Sharks
The aquarium is home to one fully-grown nurse shark named Thelma. Someone illegally took her from the wild when she was a pup. When Thelma grew too big for their tank, they gave her to CMA. She shares her exhibit with other fish. These include hogfish, red drum, gag grouper, mangrove snapper, black sea bass, common snook, pinfish, red grouper, lookdown, and white grunt.
Stingrays
Cownose rays live in the "Stingray Beach" and "Mavis's Rescue Hideaway" exhibits. Visitors can gently touch and feed them there.
Aquarium Expansion
New Spaces in 2020
Clearwater Marine Aquarium expanded in 2020. This allowed them to rescue and help more marine animals. It also created better homes for the animals who live there permanently. Plus, it made more space for visitors. The expansion tripled the dolphin habitat space. It now has 5 connected pools with about 1.5 million gallons of water. This is nearly three times more than before!
This improved habitat is called the Ruth and J.O. Stone Dolphin Complex. Winter, Hope, PJ, Nicholas, and Hemingway were the first dolphins to move in during 2020. The expansion also added new education areas. There is a total of 103,000 square feet of new guest space. This includes a new cafe and gift shop. A new parking garage with 400 spots also opened. These new areas opened in October 2020.
Future Plans: "Rising Tides"
In early 2024, CMA announced a new plan called "Rising Tides." This is a multi-year expansion project. The first part of this plan is the Manatee Rehabilitation Center. It welcomed its first manatee patients, Yeti and Zamboni, on July 30, 2024.
