Faithful Friday: Real-life Inspiration for “Dolphin Tale” movies Passes Away
At two months old, Winter’s tail was caught in a crab trap; this cut off circulation to her tail flukes. As a result, her overall health began to deteriorate. That’s when the Clearwater Aquarium team started working with the Hanger clinic to create a prostatic tail allowing the dolphin to swim normally. Until then, Winter had been misusing her fluke, moving it sideways rather than the up-and-down motion as dolphins usually do. After Winter’s original companion died unexpectedly, the search was on to find her another friend; shortly after, Hope was rescued in Indian River Lagoon, attempting to nurse on her deceased mother. At first, she required around-the-clock care, with feedings every two hours.
Recently Winter’s caregivers noticed she wasn’t eating; after some testing, they discovered a gastrointestinal abnormality and began treating her for it. Unfortunately, there was little improvement, and during preparations for a procedure, they noticed her vitals were declining. After several minutes of lifesaving efforts, Winter died in the loving arms of her caregivers
For more information about Clearwater Marine Aquarium, please go to: https://www.cmaquarium.org/winter-updates/