BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY — A seal swam up to a pier off the Brooklyn Bridge Park Tuesday, basking for hours as delighted park goers viewed it before it jumped back into the water, a spokeswoman for the park said.

Staff first spotted the seal at Pier 2 about 2 p.m., the spokeswoman said. They alerted the city's Parks Department and the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation which said the animal was not in distress.

The seal enjoyed views of the Brooklyn Bridge from the pier for hours until it jumped back into the water at about 12:45 a.m. on Wednesday, the park's spokeswoman said.