CMA Rescued Resident – Cocoa

Overview

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Details

Our gentle giant, Cocoa, was found by a fisherman floating near the Hanlover Canal on February 28, 1999. Cocoa had deep propeller damage to his head, his right front flipper and plastron. Recovered by the Coast Guard, he arrived at Clearwater Marine Aquarium on March 1, 1999. Upon closer examination of his wounds, it was found that the most severe injuries were sustained on his head. The wound went through the roof of his skull, through his left eye, and down through his maxilla. Cocoa also had a variety of issues including a broken ulna in his right front flipper, a semi-healed fractured radius in his left front flipper, a ruptured right eye, and severed edges of the maxilla that would need to be surgically rejoined. Although Cocoa has overcome many obstacles, the trauma he received to his head did a substantial amount of damage, leaving him completely blind. Cocoa regained normal mobility in his flippers, and while he has the ability to swim normally, dive, and rest on the bottom, he is a unique case because he cannot forage nor locate food on his own. Every day, one of our Sea Turtle and Aquatic Biology team members gets into the pool with Cocoa and ensures he eats his squid, fish, and greens.