n the heart of the Florida Keys. At mile marker 59, on the Gulf side,
stands a 30-foot concrete statue of a mother and baby dolphin. This marks
the
entrance to the Dolphin Research Center, a serious-minded facility devoted to
education and public awareness. It is also the final resting place of the
most
famous dolphin ever -- Mitzi, better known to the world by her stage name, Flipper.
Flipper was a she, although a male stunt dolphin,
Mr. Gipper, did all of Flipper's tail-walking (Mitzi never could master that
trick)
Back
in the early sixties, the DRC was known as Santini's Porpoise School. It was run
by Milton Santini, a pioneer in dolphin husbandry and training. Mitzi, who was
Santini's first pupil, was picked to star as Flipper in the original movie
When she died, of a heart
attack, she was buried beneath a dolphin statue in the School's courtyard
Dedicated to the memory of Mitzi
The original Flipper
1958 -1972
clipped from www.roadsideamerica.com
