Yesterday afternoon around 4 p.m. a 6-foot, 500-pound common dolphin washed up on the shore of Gilgo Beach on Long Island. It was first watched over and comforted by the Nassau County Police, who said they had a brochure on what to do in this type of emergency, according to WPIX. A rescue team from the Riverhead Foundation showed up with a stretcher and took over from there. more ›

Over the past few days, dolphins have been photographed swimming in the polluted Newtown Creek and the East River. The Fire Department provided Gothamist with additional images of the aquatic mammals captured by Bill Hannon of FDNY Marine Company 6. Despite some scary police scanner dispatches about an "animal rescue" involving a dolphin near the Brooklyn Navy Yard yesterday afternoon, the Post reports the dolphin—which was last seen in the waters off of Kent Street—appears to be doing just fine. Rob DiGiovanni, director of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, told the tabloid: "At this point right now, it seems the animal is free swimming and doesn't seem to be in need of assistance." more ›

[UPDATE]: Dolphins are everywhere! The day before a dolphin was photographed in the putrid Newtown Creek, a fireboat captain says he saw two dolphins swimming in the East River. Captain Bill Hannan told the Daily News he spotted the animals near the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Urban Assembly New York Harbor School educator Roy Arezzo and a colleague were "just amazed" when they saw a 7-foot dolphin in Newtown Creek. "We just stood there in awe—shouting, telling it to go back the other way. ... This is a once-in-a-lifetime sighting." more ›

Just hours after a coyote was spotted in Chelsea and a seal turned up on the shores of Staten Island, a teacher from the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School reportedly saw a dolphin swimming in the Newtown Creek. According to a press release issued by the environmental group Riverkeeper, the educator and a colleague alerted authorities after seeing a dolphin in the fetid body of water, which could soon be deemed a Superfund site like the Gowanus Canal. more ›

The last dolphin spotting reported was off Staten Island this August, but today, just before 3 p.m., we got word that a dolphin was entangled in Queens — somewhere around Beach 87th and Beach Channel Drive. And some good news followed the original report: he or she is now free! We wonder if this is a straggler left behind from the massive dolphin invasion over the summer, or if all those dolphins are still lurking the New York waters... waiting. more ›

Seems as though our dolphin visitors are still circling around the boroughs. Earlier today we received an alert about a "distressed dolphin on S.I. side of bay." Luckily, some animal-loving folks were around to help out, and shortly after we got another alert updating the situation. This one said, "Civilians got the dolphin off the sand bar and the dolphin is headed toward the channel." Aw, way to go civilians! The Coast Guard and Mammal Rescue are staying on alert to make sure the dolphin gets to where s/he needs to go. more ›

The bottlenose dolphins that have surrounded New York City in the past week are definitely a welcomed visitor. Not just because they are adorable and probably don't want to kill us (unlike some aquatic guests), but it means that our water could be cleaner than we thought (not to mention stocked with plenty of herring). Newsday reports that "fishermen and scientists said it has been 30 or more years since they'd seen bottlenose dolphins in the Sound in the summertime, and experts agree that the marine mammals came here following food. Experts say the real test will be next year if the dolphins return. If they do, there is a chance the Sound waters are clean enough to sustain a population of the animals." Dolphins used to be a common sight in the Sound, until the post-WWII development boom that helped pollute our waters, but maybe this is the first step in getting them back. Now, can we add some puppies to this story? more ›

Ah, summer, when the news is sprinkled with a healthy portion of marine life sightings. This one could turn out to be the summer of dolphins! Yesterday we noted that following the sighting of 150-200 confused dolphins in Long Island Sound on Saturday, a pod of dolphins was spotted off the south end of City Island. Reportedly the group had started off as one (they were also sighted last Wednesday in Northport), and has now split in two: the City Island crew (team Bronx) and the the Long Island Sound crew (team Bayville). more ›

From the wires: A marine unit has reported seeing a pod of dolphins off the south end of City Island!! (Maybe they heard how much Remy Ma likes Sammy's?) About 150-200 dolphins were seen in the Long Island Sound yesterday; the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation told Newsday they were "acting normally"—and chasing herring—but reminded people to stay 150 feet (or more) away from them. Update: The marine unit says the dolphins appear to be "confused" in the Long Island Sound—poor dolphins! more ›