fisher16
04-21-2006, 11:41 AM
WESTERLY-PAWCATUCK - Downtown drew a surprise visitor this morning - and it's one that got a lot of attention.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A lone dolphin in the Pawcatuck River drew curious businessmen and women, passersby and children on school vacation.
An estimated 5-feet long, with white streaks down its gray body, the dolphin circled mostly under the Westerly-Pawcatuck Bridge, occasionally swimming down river to surface in a patch of sun adjacent to the small parks and Up River Café.
Westerly resident Scott Brooks, out in his boat on the river, discovered the dolphin at about 5 a.m., watching it for hours.
Word spread fast and by 9 a.m., more than 30 onlookers were leaning over the railings to peer into the river, gasping "Look at him" and shooting photographs with cameras and cell phones.
They wondered if the dolphin was injured or separated from his mother and many thought he appeared to be having a good time.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=5 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Westerly resident Ashley Savoie, 21, said she received a call about the dolphin around 8 a.m. and didn't believe it until she arrived at the river.
"And then I saw him and I was like, 'Oh my goodness," she said.
"I think it's awesome," Savoie added. "I've never seen a dolphin outside of Mystic Aquarium."
Westerly Patrolman James Campbell arrived around 8:30 a.m. after police received a call of a marine animal in the river.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=photo-left></TD></TR><TR><TD class=photo-left></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>He said police contacted the state Department of Environmental Management and they sent along word to the Mystic Aquarium.
"I don't think I've ever seen or heard of a dolphin coming this far up," he said.
The bridge is located around 5 miles from the mouth of the Block Island Sound
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A lone dolphin in the Pawcatuck River drew curious businessmen and women, passersby and children on school vacation.
An estimated 5-feet long, with white streaks down its gray body, the dolphin circled mostly under the Westerly-Pawcatuck Bridge, occasionally swimming down river to surface in a patch of sun adjacent to the small parks and Up River Café.
Westerly resident Scott Brooks, out in his boat on the river, discovered the dolphin at about 5 a.m., watching it for hours.
Word spread fast and by 9 a.m., more than 30 onlookers were leaning over the railings to peer into the river, gasping "Look at him" and shooting photographs with cameras and cell phones.
They wondered if the dolphin was injured or separated from his mother and many thought he appeared to be having a good time.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=5 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Westerly resident Ashley Savoie, 21, said she received a call about the dolphin around 8 a.m. and didn't believe it until she arrived at the river.
"And then I saw him and I was like, 'Oh my goodness," she said.
"I think it's awesome," Savoie added. "I've never seen a dolphin outside of Mystic Aquarium."
Westerly Patrolman James Campbell arrived around 8:30 a.m. after police received a call of a marine animal in the river.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=photo-left></TD></TR><TR><TD class=photo-left></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>He said police contacted the state Department of Environmental Management and they sent along word to the Mystic Aquarium.
"I don't think I've ever seen or heard of a dolphin coming this far up," he said.
The bridge is located around 5 miles from the mouth of the Block Island Sound