The humpback who couldn't stay away: Jerry the whale returns to New York for his SECOND time



'Jerry' the whale was captured last year splashing around in the Rockaways - with the Empire State Building far off in the background

He was a calf in 2011 and was seen in Maine by researchers

The whale - whose scientific name is NYC0011 - was nicknamed because he was seen on Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia's birthday, August 1



Gotham Whale researchers saw 'Jerry' three times in 2013 and 'multiple times' so far this year

Whales have appeared near New York harbor because of improved conditions



A humpback whale captured in a stunning photograph last year near New York harbor just can't seem to stay away.



'Jerry' the whale was seen in 2013 splashing around the Rockaways, MyFoxNY said.

Gotham Whale researchers saw 'Jerry' three times in 2013 and have seen him 'multiple times' this year, Paul Sieswerda told MailOnline.



Sieswerda, Gotham Whale's founder, said the whale was a calf in 2011 and scientists observed him in Maine.



Just splashing around! 'Jerry' is seen in the Rockaways with the Empire State Building far off

'Jerry' - whose scientific name is NYC0011 - was nicknamed because he was seen on Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia's August 1 birthday, Sieswerda said.



The whale also happened to have a cut mark, which reminded the onlooker who named him of the guitarist's finger injury.



'Naming whales is a process that thsoe of us in science don't do easily,' Sieswerda said. '[It takes] great deliberation and consensus by a number of researchers so we don't mix up the whales.'



He explained that researchers identify whales by looking at the undersides of their tails and examining their unique markings.



Breath of fresh air: Jerry's head peeks out from the water

Going for a swim! 'Jerry' is regularly seen by Gotham Whale watchers

This year, whales have been seen 49 times in waters near New York, he said, and appeared 43 times in 2013, 25 times in 2012, and a mere 5 times in 2011.



Sieswerda said Jerry and whales like him have appeared because of 'major improvements to the water conditions, primarily the Hudson River, the harbor itself and that translates to the waters outside of New York.'



'And in the past, what it brought down was not very nice,' he said.



Those waters are now hospitable to algae and fish whales prey on, Sieswerda said.

The whales are regularly seen 'lunge feeding,' during which they take in 'hundreds of pounds of fish and thousands of gallons of water,' Sieswerda told MailOnline.



Gotham Whale regularly offers whale watching tours from the Rockaways on the American Princess. For more information, click here.



Far out: 'Jerry' waves a fin while swimming near New York harbor



