|Dolphin in Gowanus Canal Brooklyn NY|
The Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn New York is pretty much an abandoned open sewer, a marvel of the industrial nineteenth century technology that is so toxic to this day that nobody wants to touch it even if it is in many backyards in the most populated city in the United States.
Into that toxic backwater bathwater wandered a lonely dolphin which no doubt succumbed to the abandoned canal’s toxic charms.
Maybe the planet is trying to tell us something. (and a case of killing the messenger)
Sasha Chavchavadze, founder of Proteus Gowanus, said she watched the dolphin appear to get caught behind one of the pipes that runs through the canal to flush it out.
“I thought it was a goner because it turned upside down,” Ms. Chavchavadze said. “But the dolphin extracted itself and started swimming again.” She said she heard the police asking “does anybody have a canoe” and not knowing quite what to do.
The Gowanus has long been considered the most inhospitable of waterways. For years, it was the dumping ground for industrial waste, a receptacle for sewage spill-off and generally a symbol for urban decay.
In 2007, when a 12-foot Minke whale appeared fit and lively swimming around near the mouth of the canal, it quickly earned a seemingly fitting nickname: Sludgie.
Sludgie the whale swam near the canal for two days even as people worked to rescue it. But the attempts failed and Sludgie died.
|Gowanus Canal Brooklyn NY, (Google Maps)|