Some twenty or so years ago, I was on the phone with a lawyer in Seattle who represented my then employer in some litigation. We were discussing the judge's decision on a motion, which had gone against us, when, in mid-sentence, he broke off and said, "Wow! I haven't seen this in years." "What?", I asked, thinking he had spotted something odd in the judge's opinion. "There's a whale in Seattle harbor", he replied.Well, now it seems, there's a whale, a humpback (like that in the photo) in New York harbor, as reported (with WNBC video) in this post from Gawker. Since the critter was swimming in the Narrows, near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, it could easily have been spotted from the promenade at Bay Ridge.
As the Gawker post points out, this isn't entirely happy news. New York harbor, because of its heavy ship traffic, isn't an ideal environment for whales.
Thanks to Tom Turner of NYC Maritime for the tip.
4.10 update: Nick's prayers (see comments) are answered, as WQXR reports that the whale is safely back in open ocean.
I pray the whale makes it safely back to the open sea!
ReplyDeleteclaude, i think this is the first time i've ever heard a whale referred to as a "critter".
ReplyDeletewhen i think "critter", i think of something along the lines of a chipmunk. not a majestic beast that is larger than my house.
NYC does attract all sorts, does it not?
bbword: dothead: just like a pothead, but with those Dots gummy candies instead of weed.