Enjoy this holiday poem highlighting our mission, our residents, and rescue stories from this year!
T’was the day of Winter’s Rescue, when right along the shore
A crab trap was seen, moving and moving some more;
A little dolphin was trapped, the rope wrapped ‘round her tail,
CMA helped little Winter, and she just wouldn’t fail.
Winter has inspired many people to be strong
Then, in 2010, little Hope came along.
She was orphaned, needed care, and care we would lend,
And now Hope has become Winter’s very best friend.
CMA has helped rescue many animals this year,
Animals that have stranded far from us, and near!
Manatees have been trapped and needed us there,
So the team went and found them, and got them some care.
A fisher went out with hopes of a snook.
Instead, War, a turtle, took the bait and got caught on the hook.
He swallowed it more when the fisher cut the line,
But with our help, he is now doing fine.
Thelma and Louise, our nurse sharks, have grown to nine feet.
They started as pets and quickly made their tank obsolete.
Now they live here with us where they have been trained,
And with these skills, their health can be maintained.
Around the world there are many types of rays,
And some are found here in our local bays.
When you’re at the beach make sure to shuffle
Then you can prevent getting stung and causing a kerffufle.
Walle, a young otter, was raised as a kit.
To go back to the wild, he just wasn’t fit.
So he came to live with us, here at CMA
And his antics keep us smiling, every single day.
Spot, our tessellated moray eel,
Lives with cleaner shrimp scarlet, they have a great deal.
In this symbiotic relationship, Spot’s nice and clean
And that’s because Scarlet’s job is to preen.
Boomer is a new river otter friend for Walle
And watching these two play makes everyone Jolly!
Being this cute and active takes a lot of sleep,
So make sure you go by them and take a peek.
Now Ricky, our pelican, she’s a beautiful bird.
Raised in Cali, a movie star, I know…sounds absurd!
She can’t live in the wild, because she hasn’t the skills,
So she lives here, with us, and she gives us such thrills.
We do have a male dolphin, you might not have known…
He was rescued on Christmas, such resilience he’s shown!
He was burned by the sun when he was stranded on shore,
But he healed and grew up, and every day we love him more!
We don’t just rescue dolphins, but seahorses as well.
One seahorse was Ruffles who got washed up in Michael’s swell.
So many others have been in our care,
Like Guac, Salsa, and Cheeto who are now elsewhere.
We have lots of turtles that live here in our place,
Mavis, from Dolphin Tale 2 – do you recognize the face?
Lots of turtles we care for, they were injured by a boat,
Air gets trapped in their shells, they can’t help it, they float!
Something left Snorkel almost beakless and blind,
So this sea turtle’s care CMA has been assigned.
The animal care team needed a new way to interact,
They used sound to be exact!
We use aquaponics to grow food which is wiser.
The waste from fish gets used as fertilizer
For lettuce that our rescued sea turtles eat.
The plants filter the water for the fish which is neat.
Our residents here get such amazing care,
They wouldn’t have survived had we not been there.
If we could have released them, we would have, with glee!
But they must live here with us, a great life for them is key.
To rescue, rehab, then release animals in need,
Is so fulfilling for us, and it’s exciting indeed.
But without you all here, we couldn’t do what we do.
We couldn’t care for our residents if it wasn’t for you!
We thank you for your support, and for visiting us here,
Please help us spread our message to lands far and near!
We hope you enjoy Winter’s Wonderland, that’s right,
Now happy holidays to all, and to all a good night!
Enjoy this story and more holiday fun on our Sea of Lights Boat Cruise now through January 6!