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Beavers ran rampant in and around New York City centuries ago, generating immense wealth for trappers and traders who dealt in pelts.

But greed and development — what could be more New York? — virtually eliminated the animals from the state. And even when their population later rebounded, the creatures never returned to being regular habitants of the city.

So on Monday, when one of the furry rodents was seen splashing in the Hudson River off the Upper West Side, New Yorkers and experts alike were excited and surprised to discover that a beaver had found its way to the shores of Manhattan.

“This just seemed so out of place,” said Ralph Stone, 53, who saw the beaver paddling near West 70th Street at around 10 a.m. and reported it to West Side Rag.

The sighting was as unusual as it seemed, several experts said. While North American beavers are thriving in the state, they are rarely seen in New York City, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

In 2007, the sighting of a beaver on the Bronx River near the Bronx Zoo was believed to be the first in the city in 200 years.

The zoo’s general curator and associate director, Patrick R. Thomas, said that neither that beaver, which biologists named José, nor others had been spotted near the zoo since then.

“It’s kind of cool that one of them has then found its way back to the city again,” Mr. Thomas said.

Beavers were abundant when European colonists began arriving in New York in the 1600s, and the desire for their pelts back home was high. The beaver trade attracted fortune-seeking trappers, spurring the growth of New York City.

Even as beavers disappeared, the city paid honor to their role in its history. The subway station at Astor Place has inlaid beaver plaques on its walls, since the street’s namesake, John Jacob Astor, made big bucks hawking beaver pelts.

New York City also features two beavers on its official seal and flag, which were adopted in 1915. Decades later, state lawmakers followed suit, making the beaver New York’s official state animal in 1975.

By that point, beavers were among New York’s conservation successes. Though the population had been nearly eliminated, the state introduced captive beavers in the Adirondack Mountains at the start of the 20th century.

Some biologists and environmental experts viewed the beaver’s appearance in Manhattan as continuing that legacy. They said that with beaver populations growing upstate, the animals have probably been forced to migrate in search of new habitats.

Elizabeth Alter, a biology professor at York College of the City University of New York, said that Monday’s sighting confirmed that decades of concerted conservation and cleanup efforts along the Hudson River were working.

“We’re seeing in general that aquatic wildlife sightings in New York are becoming more and more common as the waterways get healthier,” Ms. Alter said, pointing to recent whale, dolphin and seal sightings in the area.

Still, experts cautioned that one beaver sighting did not necessarily herald a resurgence.

Both Ms. Alter and Mr. Thomas said there was no obvious place for beavers to make a home on the Hudson in New York City, where the shoreline was highly developed and they lack a clear source of food.

George Jackman, a habitat restoration manager for Riverkeeper, an environmental group, said that the Hudson’s salinity and boat traffic made it a dangerous environment for a beaver. He said it was likely that the beaver had gotten lost.

“This is not a hospitable habitat to him,” Mr. Jackman said.

Andrew Reiter, 24, who saw the beaver swimming near the 59th Street pier on Monday afternoon, shared that view. He said the beaver was moving slowly and seemed disoriented.

“I kind of had the sensation that it was, like, a long way from home,” Mr. Reiter said. “Just watching it swim through a little bit of trash, it was moving so slowly.”

After watching it, he came to a conclusion.

“The Hudson just doesn’t seem like a place for beavers to be,” he said.

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