Winter The Dolphin Rescuer Gives Duck Boat Tour

Winter The Dolphin Tale

From ABC News 10 Tampa Bay.

Madeira Beach, Florida — Duck boat tours give riders a taste of land and the sea. And after passengers scream and the vehicle splashes into the intracoastal waterway, dolphin scouting is always a priority.

However, on Friday’s Parrots of the Caribbean cruise, there was a special tour guide with his own dolphin story.

Brandon Paquin has been involved with dolphin and whale rescues on Florida’s east coast for 17 years. And in 2005, he was the third person on the scene to help rescue a baby dolphin entangled in a crab trap line.

“She wasn’t just wrapped around the tail,” he told the tour group. “She was wrapped around both pectoral flippers and it also went through her mouth.”

Now, we all know that dolphin as Winter the star of the Dolphin Tale movie and a resident of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Duck boat riders familiar with Winter’s story thought it was pretty neat to talk with someone who was there from the beginning.

“This man knows his stuff,” said Sue Filtch, of Zephyrhills. “To follow up after seeing the movie was just incredible.”

Paquin continues to take part in dolphin rescues, but he’s also using Winter’s popularity to speak with groups like this one and to school kids.

“Once I have their attention, I’m preaching ocean conservation; I’m trying to spread the word,” said Paquin.

And if this tailless dolphin can continue to inspire others to care about the environment, Paquin said that would be just ducky.

NOTE: Ads displayed below are from Ustream Network.

The video stream should start after the advertisement ends.