A Whale of a Day for New York

A young minke whale lost its way on Tuesday and ended up in the New York City Harbor.

A young whale cruising around Gowanus Bay was being watched over by marine biologists on Tuesday. Gowanus Bay is the outlet from the mile-long Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, and this canal is known for its industrial pollution.

Kim Durham, rescue program director for the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, said this juvenile whale is approximately 15 feet long and appeared to be in good health. Ms. Durham also said the whale did not appear to be in distress. This foundation is based in Riverhead, NY where it specializes in cases involving whales, dolphins, seals and sea turtles.

A television news crew was able to get film of this whale as it jumped in and out of the water. This type of action is common among whales of the baleen species.

Even though this young whale was frolicking around in waters surrounded by docks and a large oil depot located at the end of this highly polluted canal, Ms. Durham was not overly concerned with any possible harm to the whale because of short term exposure to anything that may be in this water.

Durham was glad to note this whale was not swimming around in tight circles or showing any other signs indicating the whale my have some type of disease. Ms. Durham said researchers will keep an eye on this young minke whale overnight hoping this youngster will find its way back out to the deeper ocean waters. The U.S. Coast Guard and a police harbor patrol boat were on stand-by in case emergency assistance was required.

Live whales are a rare site in New York City, and no one is sure of the last time a live whale was actually viewed in the waters around the city. The last sighting of any whale was in 2000, when a dead whale was found floating in the harbor between Brooklyn and Staten Island. Investigators believed this whale died because of a collision with some type of ship.

The last live whale found in the New York City area was found off Long Island Sound in 1993. This whale was ailing at the time, but this whale was able to recover after spending eight months recovering at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island.

As for the young minke whale in Gowanus Bay, Fran Hackett, a New York Aquarium official, said this youngster is doing reasonably well and just swimming around. Ms. Hackett went on to say this young whale probably found its way into the bay because it was following a school of fish.

Read more about this young whale at Yahoo News