Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Blog & News

Resident Dolphin Health Updates

Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a working marine animal hospital. All of the resident animals receive routine health checkups and daily animal care and enrichment […]

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Sea Turtle Hospital Patient – Oceanus

Oceanus is a subadult, green sea turtle who was found floating with boat strike injuries near Three Rooker Island on July 20th. Oceanus’ injuries to their carapace do not appear to be fresh. They are also missing their left front flipper, but this is completely healed and unrelated to their current boat strike injuries. Oceanus’ initial treatment plan consists of antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, fluids, and cold laser treatment.

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Manatee Tracking – Chain

A full health assessment was conducted on an eight and half foot subadult male manatee named “Chain” on July 13, 2026, in Lake Griffin within the Chain-of-Lakes near Leesburg, Florida by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) through the collaborative effort from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Georgia Aquarium (GAI), SeaWorld Orlando (SWO), Walt Disney World – Living Seas and St. Johns Water Management District. “Chain” received a complete health checkup from GAI veterinarian staff and additional blood was provided to University of Florida and USGS for future analysis and comparative studies. He was also outfitted with a GPS satellite tag to closely monitor his travels as part of our Ocklawaha Manatee Movement study. The project will collect crucial habitat use and health data to help manage threats to manatees that migrate into the system during the warmer months of the year from the east coast of Florida and the upper St. Johns River. Working in cooperation with state and federal agencies, data collected from this project will also provide an insightful understanding of how often individual manatees navigate through lock systems and what resources are they seek between large lake systems.

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Manatee Tracking – Talbot

An adult male manatee named “Talbot” was observed in Silver River by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) with monofilament line entanglements on both flippers in August 2026. He was resighted by CMARI and Save the Manatee Club staff during the winter at various natural warm water springs in the St. Johns River but his frequent movement made it impossible for rescue crews to respond. “Talbot” was seen in Silver River by CMARI on July 20, 2026, still with his entanglement. A rescue crew consisting of staff from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), University of Florida (UF), Jacksonville Zoo and CMARI, were able to respond on July 23, 2026, in hopes to help save his flipper(s). The Veterinarian team from UF were able to tediously remove the embedded line from both of his flippers and conduct a full health assessment.

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Sea Turtle Hospital Patient – Xanthus

Xanthus is a juvenile, green sea turtle who was accidentally caught by a fisherman in Cedar Key on May 30th. Xanthus had no injuries from the incidental capture and is in good body condition. They have moderate sized fibropapilloma tumors present on their front flippers. Xanthus’ initial treatment plan consists of fluid therapy.

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Sea Turtle Hospital Patient – Aphrodite

Aphrodite is a juvenile, green sea turtle who was found floating and having difficulty staying submerged in Lee county. Aphrodite is in good body condition. They do have a carapace deformity that causes a “hump-like” appearance. This could have been caused potentially by some sort of trauma as there is an old injury that is healed. Sea turtles with these types of defomities typically have buoyancy issues so we will monitor their swimming behaviors over time and perform diagnostics to help see the cause of their buoyancy.

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Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute Names Dr. Anmari Alvarez-Aleman as New Senior Vice President of Research and Conservation

Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) and Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) announce the appointment of Dr. Anmari Álvarez-Alemán as its new Senior Vice President of Research and Conservation, a key executive leadership role dedicated to advancing the organization’s global impact in marine science, conservation and education.

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Drone Training & Capacity Building Workshop: Applications for Manatee Research & Conservation in the Caribbean

From March 16-18th, a Drone Training & Capacity Building Workshop was held in the coastal town of Bayahíbe in the southern Dominican Republic, organized by the Wider Caribbean Manatee Alliance (WCMA) with assistance from local partner, the Dominican Foundation for Marine Studies (Fundemar). The WCMA is a program created from a partnership between Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to strengthen regional collaboration to conserve the Greater Caribbean manatee.

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