Sea lion trapping operations at Bonneville Dam in the Columbia River have been temporarily suspended by the states of Oregon and Washington after two California sea lions were accidentally killed in a trap.
The trap door closed in an untimely manner, confining the animals for hours.
An electromagnetic lock is believed to have failed, causing a malfunction on the trap door that restricted the nine Steller and California sea lions from getting away from the open cage trap around Tuesday evening or early Wednesday morning.
Scientists discovered the two dead sea lions after they got the door open at about 3:45 a.m. on Wednesday. After conducting an autopsy on the two California sea lion corpses, a veterinarian from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) learned both animals were trounced by a 1,500-pound Steller sea lion, threefold their size, which was also trapped in the cage.
An incident report has been forwarded to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries. The two states have also temporarily suspended trapping procedures to consult with NOAA and the project's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
"This was an unfortunate accident. However, any time you handle wild animals, there are risks that an animal can be accidentally hurt or killed," Rick Hargrave, a spokesman from ODFW, said.
Sea lions hop on and off the trap platform frequently, using it as a place to lift themselves out of the water. The trap doors are typically kept open and should not close without being activated by remote control but it malfunctioned.
Hargrave added that the ODFW has successfully ensnared and discharged thousands of sea lions in Astoria and at Bonneville Dam over the past 10 years.
Biologists have confined 79 sea lions at Bonneville Dam. They have euthanized 14 of those marine animals. State biologists have a federal license to trap and kill sea lions, viewed as repeat offenders for routinely feeding on endangered salmon, on a regular basis.
Since 2008, Oregon and Washington have operated a sea lion trapping and removal program at Bonneville Dam in order to protect endangered steelhead and salmon populations in the river. The program runs under authorization granted by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The two sea lions trampled in the incident had not been documented on the list of California sea lions authorized for lethal removal under the states' trapping and removal program.
Trapping operations at the dam will resume next week, after the two states and NOAA have reexamined the operating procedures at the dam to minimize the chance of future accidents.
Photo: Kent Wang | Flickr
