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A federal appeals court injunction issued Wednesday says Northwest states can trap, but not kill, the animalsThe on-again, off-again permission for Oregon and Washington officials to kill salmon-gobbling sea lions below Bonneville Dam is off again, courtesy of a federal appeals court injunction issued Wednesday. However, the appeals court said state officials could still capture sea lions and ship them to zoos. Oregon officials said they will begin trapping up to eight of the Bonneville animals today. The sea lions gather at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River to feast on salmon, including imperiled species, gathering to climb the dam's...

A federal judge on Wednesday refused to stop fishery officials from trapping and killing California sea lions who are eating endangered salmon at Bonneville Dam. The Humane Society of the United States had challenged the plan, arguing that federal officials had failed to show that trapping the sea lions will have a significant impact on the salmon runs. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman said the government had shown that the sea lions were doing "serious damage." The Humane Society also argued that trapping and killing the animals would harm kayakers and others who have established relationships with individual...

The authorized killing of California sea lions at a dam on the Columbia River would be postponed under a proposal reached Tuesday by the Humane Society of the United States and federal and state governments. The Humane Society filed a motion March 28 seeking a preliminary injunction against the authorization for killing the animals and said it would seek a temporary restraining order if it wasn't granted by Friday, the earliest date the "lethal removal" was likely to begin. Those favoring the removal say the sea lions are damaging salmon runs listed under the Endangered Species Act and protected at...

The hunter may soon become the hunted at Bonneville Dam. Sea lions have in recent years converted the damÂ’s forebay into their own salmon buffet line, but soon they may eat their last meal. Federal authorities last week granted a request by the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho to shoot California sea lions believed to be taking a chunk of salmon stocks that have already dwindled nearly to the point of extinction. The issue pits one creature against another, but it more fundamentally raises questions about humansÂ’ role in trying to strike a balance. Ultimately, itÂ’s likely someone will...

TRAPS, pyrotechnics and beanbags shot at sea lions have failed to deter the annual springtime feast of threatened salmon at a northwestern US dam... The National Marine Fisheries Service authorised Oregon and Washington state officials to first attempt to catch the sea lions that arrive at the base of the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River and hold them 48 hours to see whether an aquarium, zoo or similar facility will take them. Otherwise, they could be euthanised, along with those that avoid trapping. About 60 of the California sea lions, identified by branding, scars or other markings, were deemed...

A 24-year-old angler has been arrested in California for allegedly stabbing a sea lion with a steak knife after the animal stole bait off his fishing pole. Injuries to the 6-foot-long, female mammal were so severe she had to be euthanized several hours after the attack, the Los Angeles Times said Saturday. Hai Nguyen, who was being held at Newport Beach Jail on $20,000 bail, is expected to be arraigned early next week on a charge of felony cruelty to animals. Nguyen could face a $25,000 fine and up to a year in prison if convicted. The U.S. attorney's office...

Tourists flock to Fisherman's Wharf... Now a series of sea-lion attacks on people in recent months has led experts to warn that the animals are not as cute and cuddly as they appear. In the most frightening of the recent episodes, a rogue sea lion bit 14 swimmers this month and chased 10 more out of the water at San Francisco's Aquatic Park, a sheltered lagoon near the bay. At least one victim suffered puncture wounds... In Southern California in June, a sea lion charged several people on Manhattan Beach and bit a man before waddling into the water and...

SAN FRANCISCO --A California sea lion has bitten at least 14 people and chased 10 others out of the water this week at a public park's lagoon, prompting the city to temporarily close the area to swimmers. No serious injuries have been reported, but officials decided to ban swimming at the Aquatic Park Lagoon on Wednesday until the testy marine mammal has moved on. Experts say the rogue sea lion could be protecting his harem of mates or might have brain damage from toxic algae

Maggie the sea lion paints for fish Wed Sep 27, 6:02 PM ET PITTSBURGH - Some artists suffer for their work. Maggie, an 11-year-old sea lion at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, gets to eat dead fish for hers. Kesha Phares, a zoo trainer, has been teaching the animal to paint since last year. "It's, in a way, enriching," Phares told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review for Wednesday's editions. "Sea lions are very smart animals, and painting keeps their minds active." It took three months to get the animal to hold a paint brush and touch the bristles to paper. Phares...

A particularly crafty sea lion is befuddling the Army Corps of Engineers, who have come to believe the 1,000-pound mammal is either from hell — or from Harvard. The sea lion and his ilk have been camping out at the base of the Bonneville Dam and munching chinook salmon trying to migrate up the Columbia River to spawn. 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 run begins in earnest in April. One particular sea lion — named C404 because of a brand...

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...

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. An off-duty lifeguard swimming in the ocean at El Capitan State Beach west of Santa Barbara needed 30 stitches to repair the cuts he received from an attack by a sea lion. Jim West was swimming about 50 yards offshore when he was attacked by the sea lion yesterday afternoon. He tried to ward off the attack, at one point holding the sea lion by its head, but suffered major cuts to his forearms and one leg in the process. Wes Chapin with the State Parks Department says everyone is puzzled over why the sea lion attacked....

A sea lion found its way up the Petaluma River and crawled out into the parking lot of a motorcycle shop where a crowd gathered Thursday afternoon to watch. The adult male sea lion had been spotted several times in Petaluma in the past week, authorities said. By Thursday, it had reached the northern end of town, hauling out near the busy intersection of Petaluma Boulevard and Stony Point Road. At about 3 p.m., it was spotted in the parking lot of Cycle West, a motorcycle shop on Petaluma Boulevard. It was headed toward the road when employees and passersby...

SAUSALITO, Calif. Feb. 10 — A bullet was found lodged in the head of a sea lion discovered flopping along a road in central California some 60 miles from the ocean. The 300-pound male was spotted by motorists near Los Banos Monday morning and picked up by animal rescue workers later in the day. Initial speculation was that the sea lion swam up the San Joaquin River from the ocean and through a series of canals in search of food. Animal rescue personnel now believe the sea lion may have been disoriented because of the bullet in the back of...

<p>A long, strange trip that probably started with a wrong turn at San Francisco's Pier 39 ended Monday morning when a farmer found the traveler near a muddy San Joaquin Valley cotton field.</p> <p>There sat a tired -- but feisty -- California sea lion.</p>