Caught on Video: Dolphins Gone Wild
Beloved mammals in no rush to leave Long Island Sound
By GREG WILSON
Updated 2:00 PM EST, Mon, Jun 29, 2009
Those dolphins that have been hanging around Long Island Sound must like the place.
The pod of as many as 200 were first spotted Wednesday in Cold Spring Harbor, Huntington and Northport before splitting into two groups. But neither of the formations bolted for the open sea.
Andy Plesser saw the beloved animals frolicking Sunday in the waters between the Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy and the Throgs Neck Bridge in the Bronx as he skippered his 24-foot sailboat out from Kings Point. An executive producer of Beet.TV, a video blog about the digital media industry, Plesser was ready with his camera and captured the sighting on video.
Plesser, who has sailed the sound for four decades, said a veteran dockmaster at Kings Point told him that he hadn’t seen dolphins in the area for 30 years.
Charles Bowman, president of The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, told Newsday the dolphins are likely hunting herring. He said it is difficult to estimate their number.
"Half of them may be underwater and half will be coming up for air," Bowman said, noting that many sightings are anecdotal, coming from recreational boaters.
He said the groups would have no problem staying in touch with each other. "Dolphins can communicate from a long distance," he said, even from over 10 miles away.
Bowman said dolphins hunting in the Sound could mean that the water is cleaner. He added that the dolphins could potentially remain around Long Island waters for weeks.
"It all depends on the food," Bowman told Newsday. "As long as there is food around, they are happy."
First Published: Jun 29, 2009 11:55 AM EST
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