quote:TOKYO (AFP) - Fuji, a mother dolphin that lost 75 percent of her tail due to a mysterious disease, is jumping once again with the help of what is believed to be the world's first artificial fin.
The 34-year-old dolphin held at Japan's largest aquarium in the southern island of Okinawa wears the rubber fin for about 20 minutes a day allowing her to jump and to swim at the same speed of other dolphins.
"We are very grateful. Although she can swim without the artificial fin, the speed is very slow and she certainly cannot jump without it," said Masaya Kowami, a breeder at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.
"Visitors have told us she looks happy," he said.
Fuji initially rejected the artificial fin, which in its current version weighs two kilograms (4.4 pounds) with a width of 48 centimeters (20 inches).
The breeders decided not to keep Fuji's fin on all day fearing that it may fall off and be eaten or destroyed by other dolphins.
Fuji was stricken by a mysterious disease causing necrosis - the death of cells - in 2002. To save her life, veterinarians had to amputate three-quarters of her tail with an electronic surgical knife.
"Her physical mobility fell sharply after the amputation. She got tired easily as we often saw her resting," Kowami said.
Weeks after the surgery, a veterinarian at the aquarium asked his friend at Bridgestone, Japan's largest tiremaker, for help.
"The most difficult part was creating the smooth texture of rubber so as not to scratch a dolphin's skin," said Bridgestone spokesman Shinichi Kobori.
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