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Posted on 04/01/2006 1:59:35 AM PST by freepatriot32
CASCADE LOCKS, Ore. - In his way, C404 is kind of cute, with those sea-lion whiskers, soft brown eyes and furry little head. But to many he is a sea lion either from hell _ or from Harvard.
C404 has driven the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Bonneville Dam to near distraction as he and his ilk sit at the base and munch salmon gathered to continue upriver to spawn.
Numerous sea lions head for the dam each spring, but C404 is in a class by himself.
He has figured out how to get into fish ladders that help fish past the dam _ where endangered salmon and other fish become his easy prey.
The engineers have used everything legal to get rid of the California sea lion, who may weigh 1,000 pounds or more. They have installed grated exclusion gates and tried huge firecackers, rockets, rubber bullets, and noises sea lions don't like.
But C404 has given them the flipper.
He and a handful of cohorts already are waiting for the spring run of chinook salmon, which starts in earnest in April.
Then C404, named because of a brand applied by a state and federal program, will personify a larger problem, as 100 or more of his buddies join him.
Last year they ate about 3.5 percent of the migrating run at a time when salmon numbers were down and demand was up. This year's commercial salmon season may be cancelled because of river problems elsewhere. The loss percentage is climbing.
Robert Stansell, a fish biologist at Bonneville with the Corps of Engineers, knows the lively and alert C404 all too well.
"If he were in a litter of puppies, he's the one you would pick," he said.
He said C404 has been showing up each year since at least 2003 and has learned to rub it in. Last year he appeared in a window where fish counters keep track of salmon migrating upstream. The data helps predict the size of future runs.
"He even rolled over a little so we could get a look at his brand," Stansell said.
Other marine mammals haven't learned to pull that trick off.
Stansell says the sea lions are intelligent and can be taught. He would rather they not be taught by C404.
But he said the animals are showing up earlier and in greater numbers, and they are staying later. Now they have begun crawling onto the rocks to rest.
"They're becoming comfortable here," he said.
The run peaks in about September, but the sea lions head back to southern California breeding grounds around late May when the water temperature in the river rises.
They'll be back next year with their friends, and maybe their friends' friends too.
The animals have always been in the river. But now that the fish mass at the base of the dam, they provide a quick and easy meal for the sea lions.
C404 and his kind aren't endangered, but they are protected under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act and can't be killed.
Incorrigibles can be singled out for "lethal removal," a long, complicated process, Stansell said.
He said that nearly happened at the Ballard Locks in Seattle, where sea lions that nearly wiped out a winter steelhead run in the 1990s were marked for death.
But the Humane Society sued and then-President Clinton urged clemency. The worst of the miscreants were packed off to Sea World in Orlando, Fla.
Then-Vice President Al Gore called Sea World to say thanks.
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I've read a history book or two that implied that humans in the past
were capable of solving such problems.
Sea lion C404 is seen in the fish ladder at Bonneville Dam Tuesday, March 21, 2006, in Cascade Locks, Ore. Numerous sea lions head for the dam each spring, but C404 is in a class alone. Extra gates, firecrackers, rockets, and rubber bullets so far haven't kept the whiskered rascal out. They will have to think up new strategies, but can't kill C404 because sea lions are protected under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
ACK!
Save C404!
(T-shirts available at the gift shop)
Wrong...he'd be the worst pup too pick...he'd be into trouble all the time..just like he is now...
If he is that destructive who in their right mind would want him...they'd sure be sorry after they picked him...
Only liberals admire crafty destructiveness...personally the best thing to do is shoot him (with real bullets) before he passes on that same gene to more destructive sea lions...
They wont shoot him.. they just let things get worse and worse.. they must figure the problem will work itself out?
ERROR C404: Fish not found.
BTTT
Cute!
There's always another problem for a liberal greenie weenie to stick his nose into!
Catch him,crate him and ship him off to Al Gore. The problem is
solved,and Al has a cute new running mate for 08.
Sea lions gotta eat too.
This phrase demands a Helen Thomas or Cynthia McKinney T Shirt
The Sea Lions that come into the mouth of the Eel River near Eureka will catch a Salmon and take a big bite then move on to the next victim letting the carcase float out to sea...
Perhaps A pod of fake,giant plastic inflatable killer whales should be situated at the start of the ladders. Or, play recorded calls of killer whales in the process of knackering up sea lions, or of the sea lion's distress calls as they are dispatched by the pod. Call the Disney corp! Animatronic killer whales on the salmon ladder ride!
Something will eat the remaider, so nothing is lost.
Salmon headed for the rivers are going to die. Natural food cycle has been around since...
Just because humans have taken a chunk out of the salmon population doesn't mean that the sealions or other sea life have to suffer for it.
PS. I haven't noticed a salmon shortage at the stores.
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