Winter is a real-life Bottlenose dolphin, and you can visit her if you are ever lucky enough to go to Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida. She was 3 months old when she got caught in a blue crab trap, which cut off the blood circulation to her tail. She was taken to the aquarium by a SeaWorld team. There, after surgery to remove her tail, she was cared for and re-habilitated. Dolphins are very agile swimmers, moving their tails up and down to glide through the water. Winter couldn't do this, so the Clearwater team tried to teach her to swim by moving her body side to side. This stopped, however, when it was thought that this might be damaging her spine.
A doctor was brought in whose expertise was developing prosthetic limbs (silicone or plastic legs or arms). He spent a year and a half designing and testing a prosthetic tail for Winter. He also developed a gel sleeve that stopped her tail from rubbing and hurting her skin. The same technique has now been used to help soldiers who have been injured whilst fighting in wars.
Winter's story is inspirational. She is now world-famous and you can see her via a webcam at her home in Clearwater Marine Aquarium by logging on to www.seewinter.com.
Write a newspaper report that spreads the news about Winter. Think of a suitable headline and include a picture of her. As a journalist, you need to remember to answer all of the six key questions important to a clear and informative report: Where; who; when; how; what and why?
