Winter the Dolphin Dies at 16

If you’ve ever seen Dolphin Tale, you know who Winter the dolphin is. If not, she was a bottlenose dolphin that was rescued when she was around two months old. Winter lost her tail because it got caught in a lobster trap. The rope cut off blood circulation to her tail, which resulted in it being amputated. Clearwater Marine Aquarium took the dolphin in and treated her for her injuries.It took them two years to give the bottlenose dolphin the right prosthetic tail. For the next sixteen years, Winter enjoyed the aquarium life with two other dolphins, Hope and P.J.

Winter the dolphin was an inspiration to many. Books, movies and even a game was inspired by Winter and her prostatic tail. In 2009 the Hatkoff family wrote a book called Winter’s Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again. Nintendo DS then took the book and made it into a successful game for kids. And, in 2011, Dolphin Tale movie was released, followed by part two in 2014.

Today, we bring you some devastating news. On November 11th, Winter the dolphin died due to gastrointestinal issues. For days the team of experts tried their best to stabilize the dolphin but to no avail. After the necropsy, it was discovered that Winter died from twisted intestines. For 16 years, she lived the good aquarium life but in the end left us too soon.