Sea Lions Mourning at the Dam Today
Last night, our monitor at the dam could hear the barking of sea lions late into the night. She could not tell where they were in the dark, and she called in to report that this seemed like something unusual as she has not heard them sounding like this before. In the morning, when the sun came up, she could finally see them. There were three of them. They were sitting on the rocks along the steep bank, not far from the traps where two animals had been taken from and killed yesterday. All three were facing the trap, plaintively calling. One in particular, she said, was staring directly at the trap and refused to turn away or move from the rocks. He just stared straight at the trap, calling out. The sea lions continued to call out all morning, in a way she has not heard on any of the mornings since the Sea Wolf arrived at the area near the dam. They seem to be calling out to their fallen comrades.
Sea lions form very close social bonds. It is likely that these intelligent, emotionally complex animals are worried about their missing companions, two sea lions who have been on the river all spring, and who will never be coming home again. Both were put to death yesterday by the government, for eating.
