Dolphins spotted swimming in New York City’s East River

Graceful creatures swam around for about 20 minutes before heading toward the Brooklyn Bridge

When people relaxing in a Brooklyn park looked out at the East River on Tuesday, they saw something unusual: dolphins.

“It was pretty crazy,” Cailin Doran, an actress from California who was there that morning, told the Brooklyn Paper. “I was just out there enjoying my coffee on a bench. I couldn’t believe it was real.”

In a pair of videos Ms Doran posted on Twitter, three dolphins can be seen swimming peacefully through the less-than-pristine waters in front of WNYC Transmitter Park. One dolphin is smaller than the other two, which Ms Doran believes could mean they’re a family.

“They were just kind of playing,” she said. “They didn’t seem bothered by anything. Everyone was very mesmerized by the whole spectacle.”

The graceful creatures hung around for about 20 minutes and then headed toward the Brooklyn Bridge, Ms Doran said.

Read more:

• Why John Oliver is right, plastic recycling is a broken system and what we should do about it
• Government refuses to rule out new oil and gas licences in North Sea deal
• Richard Branson reveals he stopped eating octopus after watching documentary
• How bad for the climate is watching Netflix?

The New York Marine Rescue Center, an animal rescue organisation, said the dolphins appeared to be healthy.

“The dolphins were observed free swimming and not showing any signs of stress,” Maxine Montello, a spokesperson for the group, toldThe Independent. “We have observed cetaceans utilising this water source frequently.”

Ms Montello encouraged anyone who sees the dolphins to keep their distance and call the NYMRC hotline, at 631-369-9829.

Civic leaders hailed the dolphins’ arrival.

“Ah em...so glad to see these guys enjoying a Harbor that is cleaner today than it has been since the Civil War,” tweeted the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

“Proud to now represent dolphins in our district!” New York State Assembly Member Emily Gallagher commented.

Oddly, this is not the first time a dolphin has been spotted in the East River. In 2013, a lone bottlenose swam around in the waterway for several days, and experts couldn’t figure out why.

For Ms Doran, this was not only her first time seeing dolphins from WNYC Transmitter Park, but her first time in the park at all – not bad for her first visit.

“I just thought it was such a beautiful day, I got a coffee and sat on the pier and there were dolphins,” the actress told Patch. “It was this serendipitous moment.”