New York City residents were astonished to see a whale on camera swimming near Brooklyn.

On Monday, a rare whale sighting was enjoyed by New Yorkers as one was spotted swimming in the East River.

On Tuesday, the Gothamist received confirmation from the U.S. Coast Guard that a whale sighting had been observed. However, at that time, the Coast Guard was unable to determine whether the whale was a humpback or an endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Although humpback whale sightings are more common, over 80 North Atlantic right whales were seen off the coast of Long Island this summer.

Video footage from Planet Chronicle captures a whale blowing water from its blowhole near the Williamsburg Bridge during sunset, with onlookers audibly gasping in the clip.

"Oh! Did you see that?" one viewer said.

The whale was reportedly seen swimming in the East River and near the Brooklyn Bridge.

The sighting of a whale in the New York City area was considered "somewhat unusual" by Gotham Whale, an organization that monitors marine life in the region.

"Danielle Brown, Gotham Whale research director, stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that it is unclear if the whale is still in the New York City area. She explained that the whale may have been in the area today but not reported due to the busy holiday travel."

Off the New York and New Jersey coasts, it was estimated by Brown that there are numerous humpback whales swimming.

On Sunday, two humpback whales were observed near Spring Lake, New Jersey. The mother and calf pair swam in shallow waters of just 30 feet and were visible near fishing boats.

""Please be cautious of this young whale as it learns to feed," advised the organization in a Facebook post."

"Ensure a minimum distance of 100 feet from all whales, except for mothers and calves, who require additional space."

In 2020, a humpback whale was spotted in the Hudson River, attracted by the abundance of small fish.

In the period between December 2022 and February 2023, 13 dead humpback whales were discovered near the New York and New Jersey coastlines.

Planet Chronicle Digital reached out to the U.S. Coast Guard for comment.

This report was contributed to by Grace Taggart, Julia Musto, and James Rogers of Planet Chronicle Digital.

The Brooklyn Bridge, not the Williamsburg Bridge, was mistakenly identified in a previous version of this article. The error has been rectified.