Recently, while visiting family in Washington State, Richard and I stumbled upon a decomposed corpse of, what we believe to be, a California Sea Lion. The discovery was shocking. From afar we thought that it was a, rather thick, piece of driftwood. All the fur had been washed away exposing a yellowy-tan skin. Once we got closer, we found that the face had either been picked away by scavengers or washed away, exposing the bones and jaws of the magnificent animal. The animal also had this very large circular wound close to it’s tail, which looked very much like a bite.
The sea lion was very interesting to discover. Although, I never enjoy finding a dead organism, finding one does evoke some excitement because you can get very close to it and examine it on another level. Our dead sea lion, sparked some questions.
How did it die? How long had it been on that beach? How long had it been dead, and possibly drifting in the water?
Of course, as your average citizen, we were unable to answer those questions. We did call the local authorities to get the body removed and the scientists there usually conduct a necropsy. Unfortunately, we did not stick around to see that.
It is not every day that you find a dead sea lion or any animal of that size washed up on the beach, or is it?
People are finding more and more dead sea lions due to gunshot wounds caused by fishermen.
California Sea Lions breed in the waters off of Mexico and California, but when they are not breeding males frequently venture up to Puget Sound for feeding on the spawning salmon. California Sea Lions are a type of pinniped which are closely related to canine. Sea lions are known for their external ears, which they can close when diving.
Their only predators are killer whales and great white sharks, but humans have had a large impact on them. Fishermen frequently are at war with the California Sea Lion since they both compete for salmon in the Puget Sound. Sea Lions and other marine mammals can get tangled and caught in the fishing nets, can be hooked and wounded by fishing hooks, and seriously injured by boat propellers. Of course, sea lions are also impacted by habitat destruction and fragmentation, as well as pollution.
Although it’s illegal, fishermen frequently shoot or stab sea lions to protect their catches. Many California Sea Lions have washed ashore with bullet and stab wounds. This is another reason why it is incredibly important to report any dead marine animals that have washed ashore. We wondered if our California Sea Lion was a result of illegal human actions.
California Sea Lions are very important to the ecosystem. Many teams of scientists are setting up rehabilitation areas to help starving sea lions. Scientists believe that warming ocean waters are causing sea lion mothers to be unable to feed their offspring, resulting in more starving sea lions and more deaths.
It all sounds pretty depressing right? So what can you do?
My answer to any depressing environmental crisis is always education. Spread the word to others and do some research on your own. Find out what others are doing to help and join them! Sadly the more popular the species is, the more likely it is helped.
Here are some resources to get you started:
-Most of the information, aside from facts I already knew, came from this site.
-5 ways to help sea lions
-donation site
-keeping up with NOAA
Keep Exploring,
Hannah
Wild and Growing
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