A 2-year-old sea lion was lying on a California beach when it was fatally shot, and now a $20,000 reward is being offered in the case. The sea lion was found with a fresh gunshot wound on Orange County's Bolsa Chica State Beach on August 7 and was taken to a nearby marine mammal center, but it died the following day, ABC News reports. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Law Enforcement is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information about the shooting that leads to a criminal conviction or civil penalty in the case, USA Today reports. The agency is asking anyone with information to call its NOAA's 24/7 enforcement hotline at (800) 853-1964, whether they saw or even just heard something unusual at the beach that day.
Sea lions are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which bars harassing, hunting, capturing, or killing marine mammals including sea lions and other marine mammals, but officials note that "the law allows for non-lethal methods to deter marine mammals from damaging private property, including fishing gear and catch, if it does not injure or kill an animal." A NOAA spokesperson says it's not uncommon for sea lions to be shot. (More California stories.)
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