Winter -

The Tale of the Dolphin Who Lost Her Tail

By Carol Grant

JUST IMAGINE...... (at least for the duration of this story) that you are a baby dolphin of about two months swimming along happily with your mother, several “auntie dolphins” and other members of your pod.  You live along a lovely part of Florida’s coastline, right near where the space shuttle launches (but you don’t know about that of course...).  All you know is that there are a lot of “fish” that mom and the others chase and eat, but all you want is mom’s hot milk every hour or so.  One day in early December ’05 your mom and pod go to familiar fishing grounds at “Mosquito Lagoon”.  Of course you are a precocious little girl but you usually get away with whatever you want because you are just “sooooo cute”, cuter than any other baby dolphins around (or so your mother says).  Your pod enters the shallow waters of Mosquito Lagoon at high tide as it is too shallow for the dolphins when the tide ebbs.  You are having a particularly fine day, amusing yourself while mom is right there.  Hmmm, something interesting, lots of little fish near something made of “wire?” with a rope and buoy attached?  This is something new and it is fun to play with the fish there and look at the funny creatures inside that look like they are wearing “shells?”?  You are delighted until your mom signals that it is time to go, you don’t want to......, you are having too much fun....., but “OK, Mom”.......!  Then just as you turn you feel a searing pain right above your tail.  You struggle to free yourself but the pain keeps getting worse and worse.  Mom tries desperately to help, so do other members of your pod but the tide is receding and they don’t have much time.  It is shallow so at least you can catch your breath.  You are able to lift your tail a little, but something is attached to it and the pain is intense.  Your tail  fluke is firmly entangled in a crab trap’s buoy line, the very same one that you were so joyfully playing around just moments before.  Even the attempts you try at biting to free yourself just leaves you with deep cuts on your mouth and jaw.  And the worst feeling of all is the “terror” you feel when you see that your mom and the others can’t stay another minute, the water is too shallow from the receding tide.


After many, many hours you are exhausted and have deep lacerations on your tail, mouth and other areas.  The sun is up now and it is getting hot but you still try to hang on, after-all you were the favorite of all the dolphins right?  Still your strength is almost gone and it is all you can do just to breathe.  Then you hear a loud noise, it is scary and coming closer but you can hardly even struggle anymore.  There are sounds, “a voice” but not the same “voice” that you are used to.  Unbeknownst to you, there is a fishermen enjoying a day out fishing the lovely and rich waters of the Mosquito Lagoon.  He has spotted you and immediately calls for help, while supporting you in the water.  Soon, there are a lot more loud noises and lots of “voices”.  You are very scared, but too weak to fight....., now you feel yourself being lifted out of the water - the crab trap robe and discarded various debris has been removed but you are barely holding on.


You have been rescued by The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute along with The Hubbs Institute of Orlando.  There is one “person” in particular who is able to sooth you a little, it turns out that it is Steve MuCulloch, the Director of the Division of Dolphin Research and Conservation at Harbor Branch, Ft. Pierce, FL.  While you are receiving medical attention, Steve calls all the licensed dolphin rehabilitation facilities in Florida.  He finds that no one has room for you.  He is desperate, as he has actually fallen for you too....., euthanasia is not anything that Steve wants for you as you seem to have such a strong will to live, yes you are special and he says so.  Steve finally talks with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium on Florida’s West Coast and even though their very sizable stranding tank is not available, they do have a large above ground pool that could be made ready in a few hours.  Actually it will be perfect for you as you are very small and will need constant attention until your condition improves so a smaller pool is better than a big tank.  Steve and others bring you to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) on December 10, 2005.  When you arrive you are named “Winter” and placed in the pool with what you have come to know now as “people” around you constantly.  Sometimes they hurt you when they tend your wounds but most of the time it is really nice to have them near........, you feel comforted.  But you tail fluke is looking really bad, the lacerations are so deep that after days at CMA your tail fluke just falls off.


After a little time at CMA you begin to feel better.  You are even able to “suck” a little out of the bottle that has your food in it, a nutritious formula with a little fish blended in.  Behind the scenes staff and trained volunteers spend hours preparing your bottles which are actually large Dasani water bottles full of your formula with a nipple attached that is used to wean baby goats and lambs.  But you will only drink this if it is nice and HOT, every two hours like your mom’s milk.  You are a picky eater but you do hear “cheers” when you do a good job on a bottle.  In fact among the sets of “cheers” that you really like is a “high-pitched” and comforting one you come to recognize; it turns out to be the voice of the author of this true story, Carol Grant.


Carol turns out to be one of your favorite people.  Somehow when she feeds you you try just a little bit harder to eat, because she sounds so happy when you do and you get your favorite rubs.  But there are so many good people now who come and see you, even all night long.  You know you are being cared for and that brings a sense of well-being and healing.  Once Carol came one day in February and sang to you all afternoon, above and below the water.  You didn’t know this but that day was “Valentine’s Day” and she picked you as her favorite Valentine and the song she sang to you over and over that you liked was, “My Funny Valentine” by Rogers and Hart.  It is not an easy song to sing......, but what else can you sing to your favorite dolphin on Valentine’s Day?


You gained strength quickly because of excellent care but most of all your fantastic “spirit”.  Steve  McCulloch from Harbor Branch came by to check on you from time to time and you really liked it when he popped by because Steve really knew how you liked to “play”!  One day Carol overheard Steve making a call to the famous marine artist Wyland about you.  Will Wyland paint you?  Who knows?  Also once when Carol was with you a well-known doctor who designs prosthetic limbs came by to see you.  Will you get a prosthetic tail?  It is planned after you grow a little more.  Perhaps you can be an example to children who are in need of prosthetic limbs and bring them some comfort?  Who knows what the future will bring but it looks bright.


Carol did discover a wonderful sound that turned out to be your favorite sound.  In fact you just couldn’t get enough of it, it was mesmerizing and every time you saw her you would protest with loud “chuffs” through your blowhole if she didn’t make “the sound”.  She experimented with lots of sounds above and below water and found that blowing through pressed lips, often till her lips were numb was a sound that you just loved, it made lots of “vibrations”.  She would make that sound and you would come nuzzle up against her to get more enveloped in the sound and vibrations.  You would even press your flipper against Carol’s hand to let her know you wanted more “sound” and nuzzles.  There was a game you loved that she called “motorboat” where she made buzzing sounds and twirled you around in the water.  What FUN!!


Of course Carol knew that the days of keeping you company in the pool were numbered because when you were old enough you would be introduced to other stranded dolphins so you could lead as normal a life as possible in the company of your own kind.  In late May ’06 you were put in the large stranding tank with “Panama”, an older female dolphin who stranded in the Florida Panhandle a number of years ago and has resided at CMA for several years because she can’t be released into the wild.  It was touch and go at first but after a short time it made Carol’s heart glad to see you riding on Panama’s belly!  She swam on her back with you perched on her stomach all around the tank, wheeee what a ride!  When the water level was raised you had even more fun trying to find a way to dive and stay down like Panama did, even though you were minus a tail.  You found that if you dove down straight and then stayed straight up and down and used your pectoral fins you could stay down and twirl around (sort of like an upside down periscope).  You didn’t know it but you looked oh so cute!!!


You were doing so well that in mid-July you were moved inside CMA to the large dolphin tank with Panama and two younger male dolphins that stranded in the area, Nicholas and Indy.  Now the general public can hear your story and see you in person.  The last time Carol was underwater cleaning the inside tank, you of course, remembered her - even with her scuba gear on.  She was scrubbing away but you were so curious and wanted some attention from her so you dove down behind but close to Carol and made a bunch of “clicking sounds” about an inch from her ear.  Carol involved in the cleaning task at hand wondered what that sound was........looked back and saw your impish expression and knew now that “Winter - The Tale of the Dolphin Who Lost Her Tail”........., has a very happy ending!


For more photos of Winter click the photo here:




For more info on the non-profit Clearwater Marine Aquarium, dedicated to the rehabilitation and release of marine mammals, sea turtles and river otters visit their website by clicking their logo here



 
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