Dolphins swam in the Bronx River in New York

Once an industrial waste dump, the Bronx River is now healthy enough to host marine species, including dolphins it hasn’t seen in years.

New Yorkers were thrilled by the unexpected arrival of dolphins in the city’s Bronx River this week. The return of the dolphins is hailed as a victory after years of efforts to clean up the river and restore it to its former health.

The 39-kilometer Bronx River was once a busy waterway, but in the 19th and 20th centuries, the river became a dumping ground for human and industrial waste. Species that were previously abundant, including dolphins, turtles and fish, have been drastically reduced.

Since then, more than ten million dollars in federal funding has helped restore the damaged waterway, which in 2007 welcomed the city’s first beaver in over 200 years. The river is now home to a variety of aquatic life, from oysters and crabs to beavers and caiman turtles, although restoration efforts are far from complete.

Dolphins are a rare sight in New York waters, but on the evening of January 16, at Starlight Park in the Bronx, a local resident filmed several dolphin dorsal fins breaking above the surface of the water.

The last recorded sightings of dolphins in the area were in 2013 and again in 2021, when bottlenose dolphins appeared in the city’s much larger East River. According to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, recent sea visitors likely entered the Bronx River in search of fish.

Officials are asking residents to stay 50 meters away from dolphins so as not to disturb the animals.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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