Remembering Winter

Last night, the world lost perhaps the single most famous marine mammal living under human care in the United States.  Winter, the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin who was the longtime star of Florida's Clearwater Marine Aquarium, passed away Thursday evening after battling a severe gastrointestinal infection.  She was believed to be 16 years old at the time of her death.  Born in the wild, Winter was best known for her prosthetic tail.  She had been outfitted with after her tail was amputated after being tangled in a rope.  The Aquarium is closed today to allow her former caretakers to mourn the loss.

When I visited the Clearwater Marine Aquarium a few years back, I was struck by the fact that I'd never been to a facility that was so completely focused on a single, individual animal.  The small, unassuming aquarium skyrocketed to fame with the 2011 release of the movie Dolphin Tale, which in turn had followed a children's book written about the dolphin back in 2009.  The film starred Harry Connick, Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, and, of course, Winter, who played herself.  A sequel came years later with another rescue dolphin, Hope, who survives Winter at CMA.  At the aquarium, virtually every sign, every docent, and every exhibit had some reference to the movie.  An entire wall of the facility was covered with letters and postcards, fan mail for the scrappy little dolphin.  It was hard to imagine Clearwater even existing before Dolphin Tale, let alone Winter herself.  I mean, their website is literally www.SeeWinter.com. 

Winter's story made her one of the most poignant of animal ambassadors in any zoo or aquarium across the country.   Her unique story also made her an icon for humans with prosthetic limbs, such as war amputees, many of whom sought her out to visit.  She brought tremendous attention to the plight of Florida's marine wildlife and helped the Clearwater Aquarium grow from what was essentially a few stock tanks to a constantly expanding facility; a recent expansion not only provided much more space for winter and her fellow dolphins, but will allow the aquarium to rehabilitate manatees as well.

I'm sure that this is a very difficult time for the staff of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and I'm sure that I join many of my colleagues in thinking of them in these difficult times.  I hope that they take solace in knowing that they provided this dolphin which a much better quality of life than she could have received without their care... and that in doing so, they made a positive difference in the lives of so many people.