An artificial fin has given a bottlenose dolphin a new lease on life. Fuji, a dolphin at Okinawa's Churaumi Aquarium, lost 75 percent of her flukes to an unknown disease. But a prosthetic fin developed by Bridgestone Corporation engineers has enabled Fuji to swim again in the aquarium's dolphin lagoon. Watch the BBC video report here. Read the aquarium's notes on the project and see photos of Fuji both during and after the disease's onset here.
posted by jeffmshaw on Feb 17, 2007 - 18 comments

The Okinawa digital archive is a collection of images, video and narrative about the rich culture, history and ecology of the Ryukyu Islands. There's so much more to karate's birthplace than the famous, landscape-dominating military bases -- from music and dance to castles to a language and identity distinct from mainland Japan. Be sure to check out the picture gallery, searchable and sorted by region. [MI]
posted by jeffmshaw on Nov 23, 2004 - 6 comments