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As crowds of onlookers braved the bitter cold to catch a glimpse of the sea creature from the Union Street bridge, curiosity turned to concern as the dolphin appeared to be having difficulty swimming in the narrow 1.8-mile-long waterway.

Television broadcasts showed the animal bobbing up and down in murky black water.

Julika Wocial, a marine biologist from the Riverhead Foundation, a rescue organization, said it was worrying that the dolphin was by itself, "because they are very social animals. They usually travel in pods." She said it was an adult common dolphin, 6 to 10 feet long and about 200 pounds.

Ms. Wocial could not confirm that if the dolphin was injured but she said it appeared to be moving more slowly than normal.

At 2:30 p.m. the canal is at low tide and Ms. Wocial said any rescue operation, if one is undertaken, would likely not happen until high tide this evening, about 7 p.m., when they will see if the animal can free itself.

"We don't know what this animal is going to do or if any action is taken," she said. "At this point we don't know what the outcome is going to be."

The police Emergency Services Unit and Harbor Unit were also monitoring the dolphin, but no rescue plans had been finalized.

It was first spotted about 9:30 a.m. at the mouth of the canal, she said. Experts are monitoring the dolphin's swimming patterns and breathing patterns, hoping to understand what, if anything, might be ailing it.

Andrew Beccone, director of a small library based in Proteus Gowanus, an arts center near the bridge, said he was walking over the bridge when he saw police officers and a crowd.

"I thought I was going to see a dead body," said Mr. Beccone, who runs the Reanimation Library. "And so then I started gawking as well and within a minute I saw a fin pop up and a little blowhole."

Sasha Chavchavadze, founder of Proteus Gowanus, said she watched the dolphin appear to get caught behind one of the pipes that runs through the canal to flush it out.

"I thought it was a goner because it turned upside down," she said. "But the dolphin extracted itself and started swimming again." Ms. Chavchavadze said she heard police asking "does anybody have a canoe" and not knowing quite what to do.

The Gowanus has long been considered the most inhospitable of waterways. For years, it was the dumping ground for industrial waste, a receptacle for sewage spill-off and generally a symbol for urban decay.

In 2007, when a 12-foot Minke whale appeared fit and lively swimming around near the mouth of the canal, it quickly earned a seemingly fitting nickname: Sludgie.

Sludgie the whale swam near the canal for two days even as people worked to rescue it. But the attempts failed and Sludgie died.

As Friday afternoon wore on, the dolphin's struggle to survive became more apparent. It flailed in the water, and nervous spectators watched and waited for it to take each breath, poking its head above water, and demonstrating that it was still alive.

Rebecca Rogers-Hawson, a volunteer coordinator with the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, joined other spectators on the Union Street bridge.

When Ms. Rogers-Hawson arrived around 1 p.m., the dolphin was swimming just beneath her and she spotted blood coming from its dorsal fin.

"You could see a stream of red in the wake of its trail," she said.

The dolphin appeared to get stuck in some rope near the bridge, she said, freed itself and then swam a bit more before getting stuck again near the edge of the canal.

"I feel like I cannot leave now," she said. "I want to know what is going to happen."