Dolphins Return To The Bronx River In New York City For The First Time In Years

Conservationists are celebrating a huge win after dolphins were spotted in the Bronx River in New York City.

The 24-mile-long river stretches through southeast New York and has been the focus of several conservation efforts.

It seems those efforts are starting to pay off since a pod of dolphins was spotted swimming in the river.

New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation shared about the discovery on Twitter, saying:

“It’s true—dolphins were spotted in the Bronx River this week!”

They went on to say, “This is great news—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.”

They shared a video of the dolphins filmed by Nick Banco. Check it out for yourself:

It’s true—dolphins were spotted in the Bronx River this week! This is great news—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.
(Video: Nick Banco) pic.twitter.com/40ZNgBjJZs

— NYC Parks (@NYCParks) January 19, 2023

According to the Gothamist, Wildlife Conservation Society scientist Howard Rosenbaum said the dolphins in the river appear to be healthy.

He explained, “We’ve come a long way across multiple decades of environmental improvement, water quality cleaning, better environmental stewardship, better relations, all of which helps the overall environment and then leads to recovery of these systems. I think it’s just great that these things are happening and hopefully the overall environmental recovery for these urban waterways continues, and we continue to see marine wildlife – their habitats, their prey – flourish.”

The Huff Post reports that this is the first time in 5 years that dolphins have made an appearance in the river.

You can learn more about the conservation efforts aimed at the Bronx River through the Bronx River Alliance’s website.