Beloved 'Dolphin Tale' star Winter died of twisted intestine

Florida's most famous dolphin Winter beloved by fans around the world and star of the movie “Dolphin Tale,” died of twisted intestines, according to necropsy results released by the aquarium Saturday.

The intestinal torsion meant the dolphin's intestines had twisted so deeply in an area that made it impossible to reach through surgery.

“There was nothing more the team could have done to save her life,” according to a statement from Clearwater Marine Aquarium, adding that the condition is found in stranded wild dolphins “as well as any living being with intestines.”

Winter, who died Thursday, inspired fans young and old after her tale was amputated when it became entangled in a crab trap rope, cutting off circulation. But the prosthetic tale and the dolphin's miraculous recovery offered hopes to many with illnesses and disabilities.

“Because of Winter’s injury and the distortion it caused in her body, she was more prone to facing health complications since her rescue 16 years ago,” the aquarium said in a statement.

The staff said they worked around the clock in recent days to try to save 16-year-old Winter and minimize her pain. The facility was closed Friday, in part to mourn the loss of its most famous resident, but reopened Saturday.

Fans — including autistic children and soldiers with missing limbs — made pilgrimages to visit Winter, star of the 2011 film “Dolphin Tale," which chronicled its recovery.

Shortly after the dolphin arrived following her 2005 rescue, the aquarium partnered with Hanger Clinic, the nation’s largest provider of prosthetic limbs, to create her tail. While Winter might have survived without one, using her side flippers to swim, that would have led to skeletal misalignment and other health issues.

But attaching the tail without damaging Winter’s skin was problematic because its skin is so thin it can be cut with a fingernail. Eventually, they created a soft silicone-like sleeve, now marketed as WintersGel. The prosthetic tail then slid snugly over the sleeve.

Such sleeves are now used for human prosthetics and have all but eliminated skin sores, he said.