Winter the Dolphin
Legacy Name: Winter the Dolphin

On December 10, 2005 at Mosquito Lagoon a fisherman came across a baby dolphin caught in a crab trap buoy. The dolphin was entangled in the rope which wrapped around her whole body. Her tail was mangled. With the help of other passersby and a volunteer, they were able to get the dolphin ashore.

The little dolphin was transferred across the state to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The staff at the aquarium kept an eye on the dolphin around the clock. Staff tended to the dolphin and kept her alive. After a few days her tail was lost to necrosis (cell death). If it reached her spinal cord the dolphin would die. The overseeing vet removed dead tissue little by little. After Valentine's day the necrosis had stopped. Her stub wouldn't heal so easily. The dolphin now swam around freely however, she moved her tail side to side instead of up and down.

Soon word got out the media that there was a dolphin learning to swim without a tail. The dolphin was now famous. She had gone international.

One man heard this story and was very interested. This man works for a company that makes artificial limbs. He called up the aquarium and said that he would make a tail for the dolphin. After many prototypes they were able to make a prosthetic tail for the dolphin. Soon they came up with a design.

The Staff put the prosthetic on the dolphin and began to train her with it. The dolphin came to learn the new tail and how to use it.

The technology that went into creating the tail has been used in creating new prosthetics for humans.

This dolphin is known as Winter. She resides at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium with three other dolphins, turtles, otters, and other animals. To learn more about her and her family visit's CMA's website at seewinter.com

Source

Profile Coding by FallenSamurai