Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – A man who sawed the head off a dead sea lion was being hunted in the US on Tuesday, the second time in less than a year that such a gruesome crime has been committed in California. Officials say a middle-aged man used a hunting knife to remove the head of the California sea lion in July, and are offering $20,000 to anyone who can help bring him to justice.
“After sawing off the seal’s head, he placed the head in a zip-style plastic bag and left the area in a late-model white Cadillac Escalade,” said a statement released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement. It was not immediately clear why the notice was issued now, months after the crime.
The man — described as white, bald, with a full beard, and in his late 50s to early 60s — carried out the bizarre act at Point Pinos Beach, around 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of San Francisco. The incident follows a similar decapitation at a spot 60 miles north of San Francisco on Christmas Day. That suspect — who also shoved the pinniped’s head in a plastic bag — was believed to be around 20 years younger than the man being sought now and fled the scene on a fat-tire e-bike.
Under federal law, it is illegal to harass, hunt, capture, or kill sea lions and other marine life in the United States. The creatures that were beheaded are one of six species of sea lion and a common sight along the western coast of North America, including around Fisherman’s Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, where their distinctive barking can frequently be heard.
Known for their intelligence, they are sometimes trained to perform tricks in circuses and aquariums, and have been used by the US Navy to carry out military operations.
© 2024 AFP
