Wildlife officials put down three more of the sea lions that were captured this week at Bonneville Dam. Oregon Fish and Wildlife says they all had health problems that prevented them from being placed in zoo or aquariums.
Of the eight sea lions trapped on Wednesday:
- 4 were euthanized. 3 had contagious viral lesions and the fourth had other unnamed health problems.
- 2 were released.
- 1 will be transported to Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma and will eventually go to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas.
- 1 has undergone a health check and officials are waiting for lab results to come back.
Courtesy ODFW
In recent years, a growing number of sea lions have been gathering at Bonneville Dam for the spring salmon run. They come because the pickings are easy. Salmon are forced into a relatively small area as they make their way through the dam’s fish passages. In 2007, it’s estimated the sea lions got 4% of the salmon.
At first, wildlife officials tried to scare off the sea lions using noisemakers and water cannons. But when that didn’t work, they got federal permission to begin the trapping program. They’re allowed to take, and possibly kill, about 80 sea lions. But they’re focusing on capturing about 70 sea lions that are heavy predators of salmon.
