They call these dolphins “cosmopolitan” for a reason.

Boaters and kayakers are being treated this summer to up-close and personal views of bottlenose dolphins playing in the shadows of the Big Apple skyline — a rare sight experts say could soon become more common.

Last week, a pod of roughly 20 of the mammals — also known as “cosmopolitan” members of the Delphinidae species because they can be found in temperate estuaries throughout the globe — put on a once-in-a-lifetime acrobatic show for thrilled Staten Island Ferry riders as the ship closed in on the island’s Upper Bay shoreline. 4

“It was amazing! I saw them breaching and just thought, ‘Oh my God!’ ” said Nicole Shaw, a deckhand for the ferry who has worked in Big Apple waters for a decade.

“I ran over and started recordi

See Full Page