A school of rays has appeared in one of New York City's most polluted waterways, offering an unexpected sign that decades of environmental restoration may be making a difference. The animals, believed to be cownose rays, were recently spotted swimming through Newtown Creek, the industrial estuary separating Brooklyn and Queens that has long been associated with toxic pollution and one of the largest oil spills in US history. Conservationists say it is the first documented sighting of rays in the creek, although scientists caution that a single observation does not prove the ecosystem has fully recovered. Even so, the appearance of these marine animals has renewed optimism that years of cleanup efforts are slowly helping restore life to the waterway.
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