Beaver Swims The Hudson Near The Upper West Side: Reports

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — An adventurous, or possibly lost, beaver was spotted taking a swim Monday in the Hudson River off the shores of the Upper West Side, according to reports.

Upper West Siders walking in Riverside Park near West 71st Street spotted the furry swimmer in the Hudson around 10 a.m., the West Side Rag first reported. New York City boasted a plentiful beaver population when the city was founded, but the dam-building mammals were driven out from the area due to pollution and hunting, according to the report.

While the West Side Rag surmised that the beaver spotting is a sign that efforts to reduce pollution in the Hudson River are paying dividends, the New York Times provided a more grim outlook. Environmental experts interviewed by the Times stated that beavers are seeing a resurgence in New York, but that areas near the city are not an ideal habitat for the animal. A witness who spotted the creature Monday near 59th Street told the paper that the beaver seemed disoriented or lost.

"I kind of had the sensation that it was, like, a long way from home," Beaver spotter Andrew Reiter told the TImes. "Just watching it swim through a little bit of trash, it was moving so slowly."

A beaver sighting in the Bronx back in 2007 was the first time the animal had been seen in New York City waters for more than 200 years, the Times reported.

The New York State flag features images of two beavers and the river-dwelling mammal was named the state's official animal in 1975.