See Winter from “Dolphin Tale” in Clearwater, Fla.
This holiday break, we trekked to Clearwater Marine Aquarium just outside of Tampa, Fla. see the movie star dolphin Winter from the hit kids’ movie “Dolphin Tale.” It was well worth the trip!
The movie “Dolphin Tale’’ made the aquarium famous by telling the story of one of the patients there, Winter, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. The story really resonates with kids, especially those with disabilities.
When Winter was rescued from a crab trap off the east coast of Florida, her tail was seriously damaged. She was taken to Clearwater Marine Aquarium and cared for by a team of specialists.
Winter’s injured tail fell off, causing her to swim with a side-to-side motion like a fish instead of an up-and-down motion like a dolphin. That unusual swimming motion began to seriously damage her spine.
Experts from a company that makes prosthetics for humans heard about Winter and decided to help by making her a prosthetic tail.
The impact of the movie has been dramatic. Projected annual attendance to the aquarium has mushroomed from about 180,000 to 500,000.
Read more about our visit here. To plan your visit to see Winter, click here.