A dead dolphin washed up on the shores of Astoria early Friday morning — just days after a pair of the majestic mammals dazzled the Big Apple by frocking in the East River.
The bloody and battered common dolphin was found on the shores of Hallet’s Cove Beach near 31st Avenue just after 7 a.m., according to the NYPD.
The tragic animal was likely dead before it reached the Vernon Boulevard beach, as a dolphin’s corpse was spotted Thursday floating belly-up near the East 34th Street ferry landing in Manhattan.
The animal’s cause of death is still under investigation, though heartbreaking images of the sleek swimmer show a bloodied underbelly and fluke.
It was not yet clear if it was one of the pair of dolphins that sparked delight across the city earlier this month by making a rare visit to the East River — though it is the same species.
The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society will conduct a necropsy.
If it is one of the dancing dolphins spotted in the East River, it would be the second time in two months that a popular sea mammal that made headlines in New York later was later found dead.
In January, a Humpback whale named NYC0393, which became well-known to whale watchers for her unusually acrobatic displays, was found dead on the shore in Long beach after an apparent boat strike.
A pair of short-beaked common dolphins had been seen slashing throughout the channel since being first spotted on Valentine’s Day.
Incredible video showed the duo making graceful leaps out of the water with the city skyline in view.
Some experts guessed that the pair could be a mother and her calf, but were at a loss for why they were spending so much time in the East River.
“There have been just a handful of sightings of this species in the Hudson or East River over the past few years. There are fish in the river now, but it is not clear at this point if the dolphins are feeding,” Danielle Brown, director of Research at Gotham Whale, told The Post earlier this month.
