World's ?Second? Bionic Sea Creature

A dolphin name Winter is now rocking a prosthetic tail. 

Two years ago, Winter was a sorry sight for a young bottlenose dolphin--she could barely swim and mainly just wagged her body side to side.  Rescuers found her floating off the coast of Florida after she had lost her tail to a crab trap.  She was just two months old. 

She was taken to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida.  Her life was saved, but she had no tail and and getting her to learn how to swim without a tail was a formidable obstacle.

"She had to learn how to swim without a tail, which no dolphin has ever done in captivity," said Aquarium director David Yates. "We didn't know if she could do that. But vets feared her waggling might damage her spine."

The solution the Aquarium thought best was an artificial tail. Kevin Carroll, a prosthesis designer who has designed special prosthetics for dogs, an ostrich, and even a duck, offered his services.

"I came straight down, saw Winter and felt really sorry for her," he said. "I said, 'OK, we'll fit her little tail. Not a big deal.' Little did I know it was going to take a year and a half."  He added: "With a person, when we fit a socket we have one long, solid bone. We don't have to have the socket moving in every direction."

Dolphins, however, are different--a dolphin's tail needs to move side to side in conjunction with its entire spine.  Kevin designed a 30 inch silicone and plastic tail for Winter, and so far it seems to work pretty well.

(HT: Daily Mail) 

(related: Japan gives Dolphin Prosthetic Tail) -> thanks to Disabled Politico.