Seal makes splash in the Hudson
New Baltimore marina gets glimpse of unusual, and relaxed, creature
The Shady Harbor Marina has received an unexpected, but wildly cute, visitor on its dock the past couple of days — a sunbathing seal.
Kathy Donovan, a marina co-owner, said the happy little guy first appeared on the dock Thursday morning soaking in the sunshine for about 45 minutes before dipping back into the Hudson River.
“The seal looked healthy and just hung out on the dock looking around. We all kept our distance and just watched from shore or a parallel dock,” Donovan said.
“My husband Brian and I have owned the marina since 2011 and this is the first time we have ever seen a seal up here,” she added.
The sighting was a first for the couple, at least until the seal made a return visit to the same dock later that night. The marina also was holding its opening night for the restaurant there and the guests “loved it,” Donovan noted. When the seal popped up for a second time, the marina owners jokingly suggested they would have to charge him for transient dockage.
Employees and visitors
snapped photos and videos of the seal, which later surfaced online. Local commentators posted comments about similar wildlife experiences nearby, contemplating how the animal ended up so far away from the sea and the amazing journey it must have made.
A spokesperson from the state Department of Environmental Conservation said while not many seals are seen this far north in the river, “it’s not uncommon.” A federal law mandates people to stay at least 150 feet away from marine animals at all times to ensure they are not disturbed and for public safety, the spokesperson noted.
DEC asks that individuals report any seal sightings to the department to help it better understand seal distribution in New York.
Marina staff were keeping an eye on the docks to see if their rare friend made a third appearance.
What was that?!
Unusual swimmers are often sighted (alleged and otherwise) in the river, in reality a tidal estuary for most of its southern length. Here’s just two examples — one recent and one “historic.”
In September 2020 a video clip surfaced purporting to be a shark between the city of Hudson and town of Athens. It prompted a slew of social media speculation, some snarky, like “I’d like to see anybody that doesn’t think it’s a shark take the swim out there by the lighthouse.”
And on March 29, 1647, Fort Orange’s Dutch settlers saw a ghostlike hulk emerge near what is now downtown Albany. According to writer Paul Grondahl’s account in the Times Union in December 2007, citing state archival records, observers said the whale was more than 40 feet long and white. It apparently turned around at present-day Troy.
It may have played a part in the creation of one of the greatest novels in American literature. The tale was likely passed down to Herman Melville, whose family lived along the Hudson, and wrote “Moby-Dick” in 1851, Grondahl wrote.