Dolphin gets prosthetic tail

Posted By Sara-Lise Haith on Wednesday May 7, 2008 @ 17:25 in FreeDiving

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From the Telegraph.co.uk:

Winter, An Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin named Winter was captured after losing her own tail after being caught in a harsh crab trap.  She was found at just two-months old in 2006, floating off the coast of Florida.

Rescuers rushed her to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, in Clearwater, Florida, where they battled to save her life.

Winter had apparently tried to master the art  of swimming but couldn’t due to her injury, being unable to make the up and down swishing movement of a dolphin.  Vets were concerned that this unusual swimming might alter the long-term health of her spine and so the dolphin was made a prosthetic tail by one of the world’s leading prosthetists, Kevin Carroll.

Casts were used to monitor Winter's growth and body shape and to provide the mould for her new tail.  Finally, in August last year, Winter was fitted with her new silicone and plastic tail, which is 2 1/2 feet long. The dolphin is now apparently swimming normally.