Surprise in the Bronx River in New York.
On January 20, a passerby discovered two dolphins stunned swimming in the river near Starlight Park.
The spectator immediately drew his mobile phone to film this unexpected scene, occurring south of the Bronx Zoo.
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The video did not go unnoticed.
The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has welcomed the dolphins' return to the river after a five-year absence.
In a tweet, the Big Apple municipal department assured that this reappearance was a sign of the good health of the river.
"
This is great news - it shows that the decades-long effort to restore the river as a healthy habitat is working
," he said.
And for good reason: the department supplies the Bronx River with gaspereau and various fish.
This supply would be, according to the department, at the origin of the return of the dolphins in the only freshwater river in New York: "
We believe that these dolphins naturally headed towards the river in search of fish
", explains further the tweet.
This warm welcome was accompanied by a warning: “
We encourage you to welcome these dolphins to the Boogie Down [a nickname for the Bronx]!
Make sure they are comfortable during their visit by giving them space and not disturbing them.
»
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A first in five years
In 2022, dolphins had been sighted in the East River Strait.
On the other hand, we must go back to 2017 to find the trace of these cetaceans with rare intelligence in the river which crosses the borough of the Bronx.
Note that the Bronx River still had its share of surprising visitors.
Indeed, in December 2022, a bald eagle had been spotted there five times according to the Bronx River Alliance.
In the United States, bottlenose dolphins are a protected species: the law for the protection of marine animals prohibits feeding or harassing them.
Their habitat being gradually degraded, the number of these marine mammals has decreased significantly.