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Someone cut off the head of a Northern California sea lion and put it in a bag and rides it, and authorities are currently offering $20,000 for information that will help them find the perpetrator.
The bodies of the mutilated animal were found at Dolan Regional Park in Bodega Bay on Christmas, National Marine Atmosphere Njary announced this week.
Members of the park’s staff initially spotted the animal that had died and left it alone in accordance with the park’s policies, said Sarah Campbell, a spokesman for Sonoma County Regional Parks.
Campbell said the body was left “for nature to take the course,” but staff returned to Dolan’s main office to retrieve gear to document the sea lions and sent the information to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.
However, when staff returned later that day, the body had been beheaded.
NOAA law enforcement agencies offer a compensation of up to $20,000 for information that leads to civil or criminal convictions in California sea lion decapitation. He was found dead on December 25th at Dolan Regional Park in Bodega Bay.
(NOAA)
According to the NOAA, the witness accounts said men between the ages of 30 and 40 appear to be wearing black and riding e-bikes with black fat tires.
The agency’s law enforcement is investigating the deaths.
NOAA asks anyone with information to call the (800) 853-1964 enforcement hotline.
According to the NOAA, the suspect was seen using an 8-inch black knife to remove the sea lion’s head and riding it in a plastic bag.
John Warner, CEO of San Pedro-based Marine Mammal Care Center, said that, with the exception of the “cruelty and strangeness” of decapitation, head removal is not safe for the perpetrators and society in general.
“We live in a world where avian flu is concerned, and other zoonotic diseases can easily be moved to humans,” Warner said. “You’re taking a knife and you’re probably not wearing PPE, and you’re putting your health and the health of others at risk.”
From a legal standpoint, the Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits harassment, hunting, capture and killing sea lions and other marine mammals. Harassment includes injuring the body of an animal after death with limited exceptions, including educational and scientific purposes, NOAA officials said.
Marine mammal abuse cases are not rare in California.
A man was arrested earlier this month in Ventura Beach after a sea lion suffering from domo acid poisoning was beaten.
On August 7th, he shot and killed a 2-year-old sea lion in Bolsachica State Beach.
Warner said more animals were taken to marine mammal care centres in 2024 due to gunshot wounds than in other years he knows.
“Unfortunately, the cruelty towards animals is alive and well,” he said.
He said he was unaware of false claims of medicinal value in sea lion parts, as is sometimes pointed out on rhino horns and donkey skins.
“I thank God that I had no connection to the sea lions, and if not, I’m afraid this will not be shocking or extraordinary,” Warner said.
The public is asked to report fatal, injured or chained marine mammals in the strand network of West Coast Marine Mammals at (866) 767-6114.
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