This incredibly lucky seahorse got a second chance at life.
The seahorse’s story began when a teen was at Indian Shores Beach in Florida. A seagull dropped something by her feet, and at first, she thought it was a Cheeto. Soon, she realized it wasn’t a snack, but a tiny seahorse.
This 15-year-old and her mother called the Clearwater Marine Aquarium right away, and then a volunteer brought the seahorse there. The aquarium decided to name him Cheeto in honor of what the girl thought he originally was.
When she got to the aquarium, the seahorse was evaluated and underwent extensive care.
According to the aquarium, this female seahorse lined in orange had a full week of intensive care. She then started eating grass shrimp. In an interview with Fox 13 News, the aquarium let viewers know that the seahorse is on her way to recovery, and when she is better, she would be released back into the wild.
The CEO of the aquarium, David Yates, said:
“Each creature is important to us, and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to rehabilitate Cheeto.”
Despite being yellow-lined, Cheeto appeared orange because seahorses camouflage with their environments to some extent.
A reporter from the Fox team, Dan Matics, visited Clearwater Marine Aquarium to talk with staff directly and give us a glimpse of Cheeto.
He began his report by reminding us that:
“Seahorses are very, very temperamental, very sensitive animals.”
As Matics showed Cheeto swimming around in her tank, he explained:
“That’s not something that they thought she would be able to do right now.”
They talked to Mary Loceri, the mother whose teen originally found the seahorse. She explained:
“She went to go check it out and it was a seahorse, so she [her daughter], put it in the water, to kind of revive it.”
Loceri said they put the seahorse into a cup with water on their way back to the condo.
They chose to call the Clearwater Marine Aquarium because they had just toured the facility.
The reporters also talked to Annabelle Cartwright, a marine biologist who is helping to nurse Cheeto back to full strength. She pointed out how much of a difference the mother and daughter duo made:
“They could’ve just left Cheeto right there on the beach. And just kinda let nature take its course.”
That didn’t even occur to Loceri and her daughter.
“It makes me feel great. I’m really glad that the aquarium’s there and they can help all these animals big or small.”
As Cheeto works on recovering, she has become a celebrity.
While Cheeto continued healing at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, anyone could watch a live stream of her on “Cheeto Cam.” This is a logical offering for the aquarium, which already offered a camera stream dedicated to one of its stars, Winter the Dolphin.
Cartwright also gave us some additional information about seahorses:
“What’s really unique about a seahorse is that they are what’s known as an indicator species. By their presence, being here, we know that we have a healthy environment. So they can indicate if there’s a healthy ocean or healthy ecosystem.”
Cheeto actually recovered incredibly quickly.
She was released back into her natural environment after not too long. In fact, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium released her by Caladesi Island State Park on May 16. This is very impressive, considering she had only arrived at the aquarium on April 26. The marine biologists chose this location because of the abundance of seagrass that makes the perfect habitat for seahorses like Cheeto.
Now, Cheeto is ready to live her life just like the other seahorses in the area, and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium can continue helping other species.
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