Dolphin sighted in Providence River

By News Staff

Reporting by Ana Bottary and Rebecca Turco

abottary@abc6.com

rturco@abc6.com

A rare sighting in the capital city Friday as a dolphin is spotted swimming in the Providence River.

Police say they hadn’t seen something like this in decades, when a whale was spotted back in the 1960’s.

A crowd grew in the area as word got out and people tried to catch a glimpse of the downtown dolphin. Most people first wondering, "Is that what I think it is?"

"It’s a miracle because I had just randomly come outside and passed by and there’s something that’s so–in the context, it seemed otherworldly. It was really cool," said one bystander.

After the dolphin was first spotted the news spread fast and a social media frenzy ensued, even a Twitter account claiming to be the cigar-loving, seaweed eating, downtown dolphin emerged.

Skeptics had to see it for themselves, "We followed it up and down and it’s really gorgeous. Its fin was really dark against the sunset, reflecting off the water."

The Mystic Aquarium tells ABC6 there have been dolphin sightings in the Rhode Island area in the past few weeks, and say it’s common this time of year and for this type of dolphin.

Officials and the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) believe the dolphins are chasing fish. The DEM plan to monitor the dolphins’ journey.

© WLNE-TV 2015