Clean water --> plankton --> menhaden --> URBAN WHALE RENAISSANCE

July 13, 2017 10:50 PM

"Last November, a humpback whale swam up the Hudson River. The animal was spotted slapping its fin near the Upper West Side and then splashing below the Statue of Liberty’s effervescent mint skirt. [An expert] assured reporters that it was likely not lost but hungry." Cleaner water in the Hudson has cleared the way for whales to return to New York City for the first time in 100 years, in such numbers that you can take urban whale-watching cruises. And citizen scientists are on the case (and on the boats)!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (6 comments total)

Wow! Mr. Roquette and I are fequent
viewers of EarthCam's Statue Of Liberty cams. Perhaps someday we'll see a whale!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 3:59 AM on July 14, 2017

I read that as "the Statue of Liberty’s effervescent mini skirt."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:17 AM on July 14, 2017 [11 favorites]

"I'll take menhaden, the Bronx and Staten Island, too..."
posted by briank at 4:48 AM on July 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

As someone who grew up in the NYC metro area, the idea that whales would swim in the Hudson is simply mind-boggling. And wonderful.
posted by tommasz at 5:55 AM on July 14, 2017 [4 favorites]

Somebody notify George Costanza, isn't he a marine biologist?
posted by e1c at 7:54 AM on July 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the well-researched post, and for the positive environmental news. Really fascinating.
posted by j810c at 10:06 AM on July 14, 2017 [1 favorite]