So this sea lion came 17 miles upriver to our fish counting station on the Sapsuk (Nelson) River, some decades ago. In just a few minutes I watched it make repeated passes through a deep pool where salmon were holding. It killed at least 50 that I saw. Because it could. Last I saw of that lion it was headed back down to sea.
When I turned the .338 in at the end of the summer, the box of shells was down to 18. I used one to kill a caribou for camp meat, off my license. Must have lost the other one on one of my walks.
I would think tranq guns with lethal overdose loads would be an option for this cull. Dispose of therm as they wash up, if needed. Bears and coyotes gotta eat too. Well maybe that wouldn't be a good idear after all with the residuals...
Was that sea lion eating just the bellies out of those fish? Common occurrence on the Columbia. Eat the fat rich parts, leave the carcass.
Bears eating fresh salmon eat the skin, guts, and sometimes brain. They leave the rest for the birds. When they eat rotten salmon the eat the whole thing. They much prefer rotten.
I might be mistaken. Might be the large sturgeon their eating the bellies out of.
Lots of times they grab the salmon by the belly, kill it and shake it into smaller pieces to eat. I've seen numerous salmon upriver (400 miles +/-) with bite marks, most of which are on the soft underside.
Lots of interesting videos on the web of them killing sturgeon, salmon, and lamprey .
