Wistful Whale Watching

Even thought Gothamist would have loved for the beluga whale that accidentally ended up in the Delaware River to somehow find its way to the Hudson, we totally understand that it needs to somehow get back into the ocean. Still, Gothamist giggled when some people speculated that the whale got there because it was following some herring and we think it's funny (and important) that the police are telling people not to approach it. Police are complaing that too much attention is being placed on the whale and fear that this will prevent it from finding its way back. And we liked this exchange that a KYW 1060 News Radio reporter in Philadelphia had with one of the many mesmerized onlookers:

Reporter: "Is this the closest you've ever seen a seen a real whale before?"
Child: "Yes."
Reporter: "Is that exciting?"
Child: "Yes."
Reporter: "Is he really big?"
Child: "Yes."
Reporter: "How big?"
Child: "Probably like the biggest thing to happen in the Delaware River."

Here's a slideshow of the whale from WNBC. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center in southern NJ lets you adopt seals they are caring for. And you can see beluga whales much closer to home at the NY Aquarium in Brooklyn.