sea lions

Charismatic megafauna (aka large animals that we humans find particularly appealing) have been taking a hard hit this month.

Six sea lions, including two endangered stellar sea lions and one California sea lion pup, died last week in trap put out by officials from Oregon and Washington. The sea lions are being trapped as part of a plan to trap, re-home and shot the sea lions accused of eating endangered salmon in the Columbia River.

Official at first thought the animals, known not only for their salmon eating, but for their performances at venues like Sea World, had died of gunshot wounds. Now they are speculating it was heat stroke that killed them. Sixty-degree temps are just fine for humans, but that's too hot for the blubbery mammals who prefer to live in cold water. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the animals in the trap could have panicked and become dehydrated.

The traps were not supposed to have been closed at the time. Permanent removal of the sea lions has been blocked until what happened to the six dead animals has been determined.

The news on the polar bear front is mixed. The good news is that after months and months of delay, the Bush administration made a decision at long last about whether to put polar bears on the endangered species list (as a threatened species). It has been two years since the Bush administration has added any species to the list. It is he first times a mammal has been added to the list because of global warming.

The bad news is, according to Greenpeace, the listing doesn't give the big fuzzy bears any more protection than they had before under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (the same act that has been "protecting" the sea lions).

The environmental group says the ruling has a "4d exemption" for the greenhouse gases which are melting the arctic ice the bears need to survive.

There's been another reprieve for those salmon-snarfing sea lions on the Columbia River. A reprieve from death anyway. The whiskery sea mammals are still up for a one-way trip to Sea World.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction and blocked the National Marine Fisheries Service from killing any California sea lions, stating that to kill them before the case has made its way through the court system is "by definition, irreparable."

However the judges did give the Fisheries Service the go-ahead on trapping the animals and offering them to zoos, aquariums and marine parks that may want a salmon loving sea lion of their very own. Sea lions, as it turns out, can be trained to "Riverdance," for their supper instead of lounging by the Bonneville Dam waiting for salmon to swim by.

Sea lion trapping is set to begin today, and sea lions are apparently already hanging out on platforms that can be rigged to trap the animals.

The sea lions have learned that the salmon cluster in the river to climb the Bonneville Dam's fish ladder. Since the dam blocks the river, the fish use the "ladder" to bypass the dam to get to their spawning grounds.

Federal estimates put the number of endangered spring chinook salmon scarfed by the sea lions as 212 to 2,094. This year's total salmon run is expected to be 269,000 fish.

Fish ladders do not allow all spawning salmon to bypass the dam. Dams also destroy salmon habitat and heat the water to temperatures the salmon cannot tolerate.

9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled a hearing for the case for May 8 in Pasadena, Calif.

There are no plans to eradicate the dam, or find it a new home somewhere else.

Oregon's looking a little like an cable TV adventure show these days, between python attacks (Most Dangerous!), sea lion shooting (Most Deadly! [to the sea lion anyway]) and the Rogue River's recently revealed "Most Endangered!" status.

Well, not THE most endangered, but the Rogue River is the second most endangered American river, according to a report by American Rivers. The pristine river is simultaneously slated for logging as well as preservation. In a race to see who's faster — Congress or the BLM and timber industry — there's no sure bet on who's gonna win. But if the timber industry is the faster, it's the Rogue that's real loser.

Another federal agency causing drama is the National Marine Fisheries Service who gave the go-ahead on sea lion "culling" last month. The plan is to capture them, offer them to "marine parks" (Free Willy anyone?) and if there's no takers, shoot them.

A federal judge acknowledge that the Humane Society could prevail in court in the end, but the judge did not grant an injunction on killing the animals as the group couldn't prove irreparable harm if the injunction were not granted.

The dead sea lions may not agree with the whole no irreparable harm thing...

As a result of the ruling, Oregon and Washington state officials can go ahead and trap and kill the sea lions near the Bonneville Dam ( Like the terns the issue is salmon-eating). By the time the case makes it to court, the sea-lion trapping may already be a done deal.

On another note, the most exciting news to hit Eugene headlines today would be "Python attack!"

Indeed a python attempted to squeeze and eat an employee at Best Friends pet store in Eugene yesterday. The employee was saved by screwdriver-wielding fireman. But not until after it had already chomped a little on the employee and a Eugene cop.