Dolphins spotted swimming in NYC's East River in rare Big Apple wildlife scene
They're evading the Congestion Zone.
Dolphins have been spotted galivanting in the East River over the last two days in a rare NYC wildlife delight.
Keen-eyed ocean fauna fanatics spotted the two slick swimmers on Friday and Saturday — bobbing up and down the waterway near the Upper East Side alongside the FDR Drive.
These rare riparian visitors are short-beaked common dolphins — distinct from the bottlenose dolphins commonly spotted at beaches along the Atlantic coast, experts tell The Post.
The pair were seen wading on Valentine's Day near 96th Street between Manhattan and Mill Rock, according to videos posted to X.
Some experts have guessed that it could be a mother and calf.
Video shows one of the common dolphins making a graceful leap out of the water set against a landscape of steel and concrete infrastructure.
https://twitter.com/chrisstIawrence/status/1890806440861872438
Common dolphins are present in our region all year round and generally live off-shore — only seen in the city's waterways after bottlenose dolphins migrate south for winter, according to experts.
The occasional dolphin will make an appearance in the East, Hudson or Bronx rivers, but experts are at a loss as to the purpose of the excursions.
'There have been just a handful of sightings of this species in the Hudson or East River over the past few years,' Danielle Brown, director of Research at Gotham Whale, tells The Post.
'There are fish in the river now, but it is not clear at this point if the dolphins are feeding. The fact that it is not a frequent occurrence makes it even more important that any sightings are reported so that these dolphins can be monitored,' Brown added.
The aquatic mammals were last seen in the East River back in 2023.
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