Yesterday, a dolphin was spotted swimming around in the East River —the most heavily trafficked, overly contaminated waterway on the Eastern seaboard—near 96th Street. The animal has since been identified by the Riverhead Foundation as a bottlenosed dolphin; the group is continuing to monitor the dolphin there today. Despite it being a highly unusual place for a dolphin to end up, they maintain that the dolphin doesn't appear to be injured—but there is still some cause for concern: “He’s not a healthy animal, but he’s not at death’s door. He’s thin, but he’s swimming very well,’’ Kim Durham told the Post.
They added in a Facebook update today, "The dolphin was diving and swimming normally and there were no observable injuries noted. The dolphin continued to utilize a large area of the river and was avoiding the vessel during the observational period." It's unclear what Riverhead might do if the dolphin decides to stay in the area longer; Durham had told us that it would be difficult trying to herd him anywhere: "Typically they don't go where you want them to go."
So for now, they'll continue to monitor the dolphin, and wait for it to leave the area on its own—and hopefully we won't end up with a situation like the dolphin who became trapped in the toxic Gowanus Canal in January. As long as it doesn't suddenly develop the ability to walk on land, we think we'll be okay.
