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Rays spotted swimming in one of New York's most polluted canals
🇦🇷 Argentina /Environment & Climate

Rays spotted swimming in one of New York's most polluted canals

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A group of rays was filmed swimming in Newtown Creek, a heavily polluted waterway in New York City.
  • The creek, historically contaminated with millions of gallons of oil and industrial waste, is undergoing a Superfund cleanup process.
  • While the sighting is a positive environmental sign, experts caution that it doesn't confirm a full ecosystem recovery.

A surprising sight unfolded in New York City as a group of rays was filmed navigating the notoriously polluted waters of Newtown Creek. This waterway, situated between Brooklyn and Queens, has long been considered one of the most contaminated in the United States due to decades of industrial waste and millions of gallons of spilled oil.

The video, shared by the Newtown Creek Alliance, captured the rays swimming together, a detail that Willis Elkins, the organization's executive director, described as "much more encouraging" than a single animal sighting. He noted that the coordinated movement of the group suggests they may be seeking food, indicating potentially improved ecological conditions.

The presence of several specimens at the same time is a much more encouraging sign than the isolated appearance of an animal.

— Willis ElkinsExecutive Director of Newtown Creek Alliance, commenting on the significance of seeing multiple rays.

Newtown Creek was added to the EPA's Superfund program in 2010 to address its severe environmental degradation. While the cleanup continues, the presence of these rays offers a hopeful, albeit cautious, sign of progress in the ecosystem's recovery. Experts emphasize that this single observation does not yet confirm a complete environmental turnaround.

What was really impressive was seeing the whole group moving as one.

— Willis ElkinsNewtown Creek Alliance Executive Director, describing the coordinated movement of the rays.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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