A baby sea lion died after being fatally shot on a California beach and federal law enforcement officials are offering $20,000 to anyone with information about the killer.
The two-year-old sea lion named Espy was found at Bolsa Chica State Beach in Orange County with a bullet in his chest.
A rescue team from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center (PMMC) attempted to save Espy, who was in critical condition, but the sea lion died overnight from his injuries.
Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are now stepping up their efforts to find out who is responsible for the cold-blooded murder.
“We offered the reward in this case because the shot animal was found on a very public beach and we hope the reward will encourage anyone who saw or heard something to report it to us,” NOAA spokesman Michael Milstein told us. . The Orange County Register.
A two-year-old sea lion named Espy died after being shot in the chest
The sea lion was spotted with its injuries at Bolsa Chica State Beach in Orange County
The shooting of the sea lion was a violation of California’s Marine Mammal Protection Act, which “prohibits the harassment, hunting, capture or killing of sea lions and other marine mammals,” NOAA said.
Violators of this act can be fined as much as $34,457 and face up to a year in jail. Anything used to commit the crime can also be seized by the government.
PMMC chief veterinarian and vice president of conservation medicine Alissa Deming described her team’s experience with Espy. The rescue crew named the sea lion.
She said the PMMC was flagged by someone who noticed the sea lion acting strangely. But when they arrived at the beach, the injured mammal went back into the water because it became scared.
About two hours later, he returned to shore “probably because his condition was deteriorating,” Deming told The Orange County Register.
She said he was having trouble breathing. He was taken to the hospital, where it was confirmed that Espy had been shot.
But Espy’s situation is not unique.
John Warner, director of the Los Angeles Marine Mammal Center in San Pedro, said he has seen a “steady stream” of sea lions being shot.
Warner told The Orange County Register, “At least three were patients who we picked up again at gunpoint and then died en route.
‘They take an emotional toll because we put a lot of time and care into them.’
NOAA is offering a $20,000 prize for information about the sea lion’s killer
He said it is a sea lion in the center’s care that was shot in the jaw.
“He could barely open his mouth and we found out there was a bullet in there,” Warner said.
Last year, several endangered Steller sea lions were found dead with signs of human intervention along Alaska’s Copper River Delta, NOAA reported.
The organization last August offered a $20,000 reward to anyone with information that could lead to a criminal conviction or civil fine.
Espy entered the water after first being spotted because he became scared, but emerged back onto the shore of Bolsa Chica about two hours later
In 2021, another $20,000 was awarded for the fatal shooting of another California sea lion.
This sea lion was found with a bullet in its head.
Milstein said any information that emerges about Espy’s death “is up to the U.S. Attorney to determine whether the evidence based on the reward is sufficient to bring charges,” he told The Orange County Register .