“It’s like everyone brought a friend”

High Country News with a very thorough examination of the current sea lion problem on the Columbia.

These days, more than 300,000 California sea lions roam U.s. Waters.This population is probably at a higher abundance level now than at any time in the last 10 to 12,000 years,” says Bob DeLong, a marine mammal biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

LINK (via:HCN)

Sea Justice

Someone's been a bad boy in Astoria.  Several Sea Lions and a harbor seal have been found shot near Astoria, Oregon recently and there is now a $5,000 reward for the unknown marksman. LINK  

Another, well-loved and well-known sea lion named Nessie was also recently found shot in the head on a sandbar near the Cowlitz River near Longview, WA.  LINK

In related news, video has surfaced of seals being trained for possible retaliation in a secret Russian training facility.

The sea lions briefly "got deathly silent" when the orca sailed into view....

...that was just before it tipped over.

The small fishing village of Astoria, Oregon, tried to scare off a pesky sea lion colony with a large fake mechanical orca. It was a cunning scheme, one that pitted the sly artifice of man against whatever it is sea lions have. But alas—nature won.

The plan to unleash the fiberglass orca—which is actually a licensed boat—was concocted to spook the sea lions using recorded whale noises and the visual threat of imminent death by top ocean-dwelling predator.

But the 32-foot-long fake whale’s maiden voyage didn’t exactly go... swimmingly.

LINK (via: Gizmodo)

Sea lion salmon predation at record level

The number of sea lions and the number of salmon they’ve eaten this year in the Bonneville Dam tailrace is more than double the twelve-year average, according to a May 12 status report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

LINK

Hungry Sea Lions Pile Into The Columbia River

Photo: Theresa Tillson/Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

California sea lions are literally piling into Astoria’s East Mooring Basin. They’ve taken over every square foot of the boat docks, and they’re even lying on top of each other for lack of space.

The latest sea lion count in the marina tallied a record 2,340 – a “mind-boggling number,” according to Bryan Wright of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The big question now is how many sea lions will stay in the Columbia River and eat returning spring salmon?

(via: OPB)

Note to self

Never mess with a sea lion.