A dolphin in a Japanese water park, who couldn't swim because it had no tail, has been given a new lease of life after being fitted with an artificial fin. Fuji, the 36-year-old bottlenose dolphin, suffered a life-threatening disease which caused her tail to rot four years ago. Rather than let the disease spread to the rest of her body, veterinarians at the Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa, Japan, decided to amputate her tail fin. The result was a very depressed dolphin who could no longer frolic in the water with her aquatic pals. Having no tail also meant Fuji was unable to exercise. This meant she started putting on the kilos, which caused a further threat to her life. Just when doom and gloom surrounded the future of Fuji, in stepped an unlikely saviour the Japanese tyre manufacturer Bridgestone.
在日本海洋館,一只海豚安“假肢”重獲新生,此前它因無尾鰭而無法游行。四年前,36歲尖嘴海豚“富士”因患重病不得不切除尾鰭。沖繩海洋博公園獸醫(yī)決定切斷尾鰭,避免疾病蔓延全身。最終,“富士”再也無法與伙伴們在海中嬉戲。她也將無法進行訓練。隨著體重不斷增加,生命將進一步遭受威脅。就在“富士”未來陰云密布之際,日本輪胎制造商普利司通成為救世主。
Bridgestone is more commonly associated with Formula One racing technology than artificial dolphin fins. However, it seems dolphin fins and racing car tyres have more in common than we believed. Bridgestone saved Fuji’s life by pouring around US$83,000 dollars into creating the replacement fin. The new prosthesis is made from the same kind of rubber that is used for Formula One car tyres. Fuji wears her new tail fitting for just two to three hours everyday. Her trainer hopes Bridgestone can make an improved version that can be worn for longer, as part of the new fin wears out quickly. This means Fuji will experience pain and discomfort if she uses the fin for a long time, and she’ll end up getting hurt. Her trainer said: "Thanks to the new prosthetic creation Fuji is now able to lead a normal life."
比起制造人工尾鰭,普利司通通常會和F1賽車聯(lián)系在一起。然而,海豚尾鰭和賽車輪胎似乎超出了我們的想象。輪胎廠商出資約8.3萬美金打造人工尾鰭,并挽救“富士”生命。假肢制作材料同樣來自F1輪胎橡膠。每天“假肢”佩戴時間為2-3個小時。因新尾鰭磨損時間快,培訓師希望廠家能夠生產(chǎn)耐磨型尾鰭。若佩戴時間增加,“富士”將感到疼痛和不適,并將在痛苦中死去。培訓師表示:“多虧尾鰭假肢,如今她可以自由活動了。”