Photo: NOAA/Kristin Wilkinson
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement is offering a reward of up to $20,000 as they search for a person who decapitated a dead sea lion in July. The incident happened in Pacific Grove, California, a coastal town located on the southern point of Monterey Bay. Now, NOAA officials have announced offered the reward to anyone with information that leads to the arrest of the man responsible.
The incident occurred on the evening of July 27. The sea lion itself was already dead, according to reports, when a man sawed its head off, placed it in a plastic bag, and drove off. Law enforcement described him as approximately five feet, nine inches tall and bald with a full beard, and is in his 50s to early 60s.
Photo: NOAA Office of Law Enforcement
Sadly enough, there has been a disturbing trend of this lately. On Christmas Day in 2024, a park staff member discovered a dead sea lion in Doran Regional Park in Bodega Bay. That same park staff member then came back to find the animal had since been decapitated. A witness reported seeing a man place the sea lion’s head in a plastic bag and ride off with it on an e-bike. NOAA officials announced the same $20,000 reward back in March, but there’s been no report of whether or not a suspect was ever found in that case.
“Harassing, harming, killing or feeding sea lions is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as is collecting marine mammal protected species parts,” NOAA officials said in a statement. According to the NOAA officials, civil prosecutions could result in fines of up to $35,498 per violation, and criminal violations are punishable by up to $100,000 in fines and one year in jail per violation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964
