What was the porpoise?<\/p>\n
A dozen fun-loving and acrobatic dolphins turned the East River into their playground \u2014 leaving bewildered experts scratching their heads on what propelled the rare visit.<\/p>\n
The pod of short-beaked common dolphins danced around Randall\u2019s Island on Monday, dazzling New Yorkers who were out and about enjoying the first warm days of the year. <\/a><\/p>\n A pod of a dozen dolphins were spotted dancing in the East River on Monday. Randalls Island Park<\/p>\n Videos showed the <\/a>dolphins soaring out of the waves with the city skyline serving as a backdrop, while frenzied onlookers cheered at the unbelievable sight.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s not the first visit by the species to the waterway, the sighting marks the largest pod of the short-beaked common dolphins to meander into the East River<\/a> in recent history.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s a migration or if it\u2019s just that this is a good spot to eat \u2014 we don\u2019t know. It\u2019s a little bit difficult with dolphins,\u201d Chris St. Lawrence of Gotham Whale told The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always cool to see big groups of dolphins in the city area. It shows that at least there\u2019s enough food somewhere in the area to support that many animals.\u201d<\/p>\n The sighting comes almost exactly a year after a pair of short-beaked common dolphins were seen frolicking in the East River. Chris St Lawrence<\/p>\n Common dolphins are present in the metro region all year round, but generally live off-shore, unlike the bottlenose dolphins which are more commonly seen along beaches and inside of estuaries, according to Gotham Whale.<\/p>\n The species\u2019 presence in the East River is so new that experts are not entirely sure what is leading them into the estuary, though Gotham Whale theorizes that the pod may have been following its lunch.<\/p>\n The east side of Randall\u2019s Island is \u201cpretty productive\u201d for fish like striped bass, menhaden and anchovies, St. Lawrence explained, adding that he saw a pack of seagulls hunting in the same area later Monday after the dolphins had dined and dashed. <\/p>\n The pod could have been munching on fish like striped bass or menhaden. Randalls Island Park<\/p>\n But the pod could have also been using the East River<\/a> as its own personal playground, he noted.<\/p>\n \u201cThat area around Hellgate has a really strong current and we know that dolphins often hang out in in strong waves so that that could be another thing. The video showed the dolphins jumping out of the water,\u201d said St. Lawrence. <\/p>\n The sighting comes almost exactly a year after a pair of short-beaked dolphins captivated the Big Apple <\/a>with their own graceful dancing. <\/p>\n \u201cIt shows that at least there\u2019s enough food somewhere in the area to support that many animals,\u201d Chris St. Lawrence said on the mammals\u2019 presence. Chris St Lawrence<\/p>\n