Dolphin Made East River Splash Before Coyote Dove In

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Several eagle-eyed New Yorkers have spotted dolphins swimming in the East River in recent days and weeks, according to photos and accounts shared on social media from late March up through at least Monday morning.

The first sighting of the season seems to have come at the end of last month, with Twitter user @kittymaoenjoyer writing on March 27 that they think they saw dolphins in the East River "a few days ago." On April 2, @blprnt chimed in, writing "Somebody just spotted a pod of dolphins in the East River, offshore of Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 2."

"I didn't manage to see them, but holy wow is it heartening to know they're here," the user wrote.

In the days following, more photos and videos began to pour in on the platform, with one video shared by @whatisny on April 3 showing a pair of dolphins swimming alongside each other. On April 7, @xoxofrenchie reported that the dolphins had made their way to the Lower East Side, sharing photos of a handful of dolphins swimming underneath the Manhattan Bridge.

ABC7 NY reported Tuesday that a dolphin was seen swimming in the East River near 96th Street Monday morning.

While many Twitter users enjoyed seeing dolphins in the Big Apple, others expressed concern at the dolphin sightings, fearing that the environment is not safe or healthy for the animals.

However, in January, after a dolphin was spotted swimming in the Bronx River, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation tweeted that "This is great news," as "it shows that the decades-long effort to restore the river as a healthy habitat is working."

"We believe these dolphins naturally found their way to the river in search of fish," the tweet concluded.

Dolphin sightings in New York City's waterways are relatively rare, but have occurred fairly often in recent years.

Three dolphins were spotted in March 2021 swimming in the East River near Greenpoint.

Experts say the city's rivers are much cleaner than their less-than-sparkling-clean reputation, thanks in large part to local cleanup efforts.

The cleaner water appears to be attracting more wildlife, as the parks department tweet states.

Monday's dolphin sighting came the same day that a wild coyote was the focus of a dramatic river rescue, according to police and reports.

Officers from the 19th Precinct got a call about a "dog" fighting for its life in the East River on Monday at around 2:15 p.m. near East 96th Street, police said.

Turns out, the strange-looking dog was actually a coyote struggling to swim.

The coyote is now in the care of veterinarians, officials said, adding that there doesn't seem to be any foul play in connection to the swim and it's unclear where the poor pup entered the water.