Fig 1.
Tail flukes amputation and prosthetic application in the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin.
(A) Lateral view of the subject dolphin following surgical removal of the tail flukes due to trauma-induced necrosis. (B) Close-up of the residual tail stump showing asymmetrical deformation. (C) Custom-designed prosthetic tail flukes developed for attachment to the caudal peduncle. (D) The dolphin swimming with the prosthetic tail flukes attached, exhibiting vertical tail-beat motion.
Fig 2.
Boxplots of maximum swim speed (A), stroke frequency (B), and relative propulsive distance per stroke (RPDS) (C) measured by accelerometer under three conditions: No Fin, Prosthetic Tail, and Control (a healthy individual with intact tail flukes).
Asterisks indicate statistically significant differences between groups based on Tukey’s HSD test (p < 0.05). Boxes represent the interquartile range (IQR), horizontal lines inside boxes indicate medians, and whiskers extend to 1.5 × IQR. Outliers are plotted as individual points.
Fig 3.
Behavioral composition of a rehabilitated Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin before and after rehabilitation, compared with a healthy control.
Pie charts represent the proportion of six behavioral categories—resting, affiliative, high-energy, and others—observed during focal sampling sessions. “Others” includes routine swimming, solitary play, and exploratory behaviors.