Dolphin follows fish to Philadelphia
Published: May 2, 2008 at 3:36 PM
PHILADELPHIA, May 2 (UPI) -- A hungry dolphin headed up the Delaware River and into the Schuylkill before a dam near the Philadelphia Art Museum forced it to turn around.
Police Officer Anthony Kowalski of the Philadelphia Marine Unit said that a school of herring heading upriver to spawn probably attracted the dolphin, the Philadelphia Daily News reported. Police followed the dolphin upriver, but it got away from them near the Philadelphia International Airport, only to be spotted Thursday in the Schuylkill.
Kowalski predicted that the dolphin would head back to Cape May and the open Atlantic once it has spent a few days feeding up.
Ocean wildlife has become more common in the river in recent years, a sign that it has become cleaner. In April 2006, a baby gray seal swam upriver, and in 2005 a 20-foot beluga whale got as far upstream as Trenton, N.J., 30 miles from Philadelphia.
Philadelphia is about 100 miles by river from Cape May and 50 miles from the head of Delaware Bay.
Police Officer Anthony Kowalski of the Philadelphia Marine Unit said that a school of herring heading upriver to spawn probably attracted the dolphin, the Philadelphia Daily News reported. Police followed the dolphin upriver, but it got away from them near the Philadelphia International Airport, only to be spotted Thursday in the Schuylkill.
Kowalski predicted that the dolphin would head back to Cape May and the open Atlantic once it has spent a few days feeding up.
Ocean wildlife has become more common in the river in recent years, a sign that it has become cleaner. In April 2006, a baby gray seal swam upriver, and in 2005 a 20-foot beluga whale got as far upstream as Trenton, N.J., 30 miles from Philadelphia.
Philadelphia is about 100 miles by river from Cape May and 50 miles from the head of Delaware Bay.
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
» Next in Quirks:
Alligator eludes trappers near school
Graduating Arts and Sciences senior Erin Forman of Boca Raton, Florida, passes the time before commencement ceremonies to blow bubbles at Washington University in St. Louis on May 16, 2008. (UPI Photo/Bill Greenblatt)
GRADUATION DAY AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS
Full Photo
| Slideshow
Latest Headlines
Most Popular
- Sen. Kennedy rushed to Mass. hospital
- DeGeneres: 'I am getting married'
- Kuwaitis go to polls in assembly election
- Alleged loan-fraud scam leads to arrests
- Detroit nearly throws out tunnel proposal
- UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News
- Al-Qaida bounty program unsuccessful
- Sharapova out in Rome with calf injury