Sea Lions

To most, they are fascinating creatures, among the cutest and most playful in the sea. To casual saltwater fishermen, they are usually welcome at first, but wear out their welcome in a hurry. To serious fishermen, they are nuisances, and to anyone in the business of saltwater fishing, they are about as welcome as a 50-knot wind.

Re: The public's outrage over the sea lions at San Miguel Island: I am a marine biologist and currently working on my master's in environmental health. I am appalled at some of the statements made recently in news reports. How can biologist Bob DeLong refer to the sea lions' starvation as "natural selection"? These animals are dying because of the human lifestyle. El Nino may be a relatively unstudied phenomenon until now, but you can bet it all ties in with global warming, which is a direct result of man's selfish activities.

A 195-pound sea lion was recovering Monday after swimming nearly five miles up the San Diego Creek channel, reaching the unlikely destination of the Irvine Civic Center before calling it a day. The mammal, a 3- or 4-year-old female dubbed Irvine, was expected to be released back into the ocean Wednesday after resting at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach.

The cheering began as one of the biggest sets of the day rolled in. A lone surfer was in the lineup, but nobody cared about him. He got caught inside and, trying to paddle over an 8-footer, was sucked over the falls. His board broke in two, he surfaced and rode the whitewater in on a three-foot chunk of fiberglass and foam, humbled but relieved to be back on land.

An injured California sea lion with part of a gill net cutting into its neck on Monday eluded yet another attempt at rescue--the third unsuccessful attempt in less than a week. Rescuers said they plan to try again in several days. "We're disappointed, but we're not giving up," said Judi Jones, director of Friends of the Sea Lion, a Laguna Beach group that specializes in helping injured sea lions.

Shopper the wandering California sea lion was found shot to death earlier this week in a Napa Valley vineyard. A worker discovered the dead 286-pound mammal near a row of grapes Tuesday. Marine officials recovered the carcass and discovered a gunshot wound to the head near its left eye. Investigators further inspected the carcass and questioned vineyard workers Wednesday for clues. Authorities have no suspects or possible motive for the killing.

A fishing boat captain pleaded guilty Monday to shooting at sea lions while his boat was anchored off Catalina Island. John Gary Woodrum, 38, of Harbor City admitted firing a .22-caliber rifle at the sea lions on two occasions last fall. He faces a possible maximum sentence of two years in prison for misdemeanor violations of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Two dead sea lions washed ashore this morning in Huntington Beach, bringing to six the number of sea lions carcasses discovered in the area in the past week. "This many deaths in a short period of time is unusual," said Joe Cordaro, an official with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Los Angeles. "We're looking into it, and trying to see if this trend will continue." Cordaro said authorities don't know whether the six sea lions "were shot, caught by fisherman or died of diseases."

U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman denied a request by the Humane Society of the United States to block the government from killing protected sea lions at Bonneville Dam. Indian tribes and fishermen say the sea lions are eating threatened salmon. The killing could start by the end of this week.

Sea lions facing death for gobbling up dwindling stocks of steelhead trout at the Ballard Locks in Seattle now have a champion in the Humane Society. The Humane Society of the United States filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington on Thursday seeking to overturn federal authorization to kill up to five sea lions, the local Humane Society said Friday.