Police Attempting To Rescue Whale Off Of Orchard Beach

Published April 23, 2017

Modified April 23, 2017

A whale appeared near the shore at Orchard Beach this afternoon, and the NYPD is on the scene attempting a rescue.

A post shared by Sergio Oquendo (@sirgeeoooooh) on Apr 23, 2017 at 9:56am PDT

The whale, which was originally thought to be a dolphin, was reported by witnesses off the coast of Orchard Beach at around noon. Police from the NYPD's Harbor Unit showed up and have been trying to help the whale, which was in just two feet of water.

#HappeningNow #NYPD #Harbor & #ESU personnel are trying to assist a stranded whale in the vicinity of Orchard Beach. pic.twitter.com/bKVGarFqog
— NYPD Special Ops (@NYPDSpecialops) April 23, 2017

Beached whale at Orchard Beach. @NYPD emergency service has arrived. Helicopter circling, 2 whalers keeping boat traffic out of the bay. pic.twitter.com/yp09kQqPge
— Noreen Whysel (@nwhysel) April 23, 2017

It's not every day you get to see a whale rescue 😮 🐋🐳 #freewilly
A post shared by Kasia Czerepak (@czerepak) on Apr 23, 2017 at 9:43am PDT

I watched this poor #whale swim around and around until it beached itself. Working on helping it but attempts seem unsuccessful. #orchardbeach#nyc#animalrescue
A post shared by Lucy Dalton (@lucydaltonjewelry) on Apr 23, 2017 at 9:24am PDT

An NYPD spokesperson said that they couldn't offer much comment on the ongoing whale rescue, but did report that "no criminality was suspected on the part of the whale."