Marty
09-14-2005, 12:23 PM
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Sea lions have been wreaking havoc in Newport Harbor for the past few weeks, residents and authorities say.
The weight of 15 sea lions sank Jerry Dunlop's 1910, 50-foot sailboat into the bottom of Newport Harbor.
"I was kind of dumbfounded," Dunlap, a contractor who lives in Garden Grove, told The Orange County Register newspaper. "I don't know what my loss is."
The Register reports that the animals have been basking in the sun aboard boat decks and barking all night long, keeping residents awake.
The Harbor Commission is expected to meet Wednesday night to hear a report from staff on what other harbor cities have done to deter the animals.
The city has used a few methods to get rid of the animals. Those methods include: scarecrows, firecrackers, predator sounds, and capture and relocation of the sea lions. Monica DeAngelis, marine-mammal biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service, tells The Register that those methods have not seemed to work that well.
Newport Beach officials say they are not going to use any of those tactics, but staff is asking that city officials make it illegal to feed the sea lions, according to The Register. That decision would ultimately be up to the City Council. "The more you feed wild animals, the more they want to hang around," Chris Miller, harbor resources supervisor, told The Register.
The sea lions started showing up in May, when a group of them found a cozy, flat surface to sunbathe on near an anglers club by the Balboa Pavilion, The Register reported.
The animals have trained themselves to haul their bodies up to surfaces. They have been able to get aboard boats using swim stairs and low surfaces. The Harbor Commission has received complaints, and the sea lion nuisance has been getting worse in the past six weeks, Miller told The Register.
The Register reports that some boat owners have taken the matter into their own hands by pulling wire through milk cartons and hanging them around the boats.
Dunlap told The Register that someone should have contacted him when the sea lions started taking over his boat.[/b]
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Sea lions have been wreaking havoc in Newport Harbor for the past few weeks, residents and authorities say.
The weight of 15 sea lions sank Jerry Dunlop's 1910, 50-foot sailboat into the bottom of Newport Harbor.
"I was kind of dumbfounded," Dunlap, a contractor who lives in Garden Grove, told The Orange County Register newspaper. "I don't know what my loss is."
The Register reports that the animals have been basking in the sun aboard boat decks and barking all night long, keeping residents awake.
The Harbor Commission is expected to meet Wednesday night to hear a report from staff on what other harbor cities have done to deter the animals.
The city has used a few methods to get rid of the animals. Those methods include: scarecrows, firecrackers, predator sounds, and capture and relocation of the sea lions. Monica DeAngelis, marine-mammal biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service, tells The Register that those methods have not seemed to work that well.
Newport Beach officials say they are not going to use any of those tactics, but staff is asking that city officials make it illegal to feed the sea lions, according to The Register. That decision would ultimately be up to the City Council. "The more you feed wild animals, the more they want to hang around," Chris Miller, harbor resources supervisor, told The Register.
The sea lions started showing up in May, when a group of them found a cozy, flat surface to sunbathe on near an anglers club by the Balboa Pavilion, The Register reported.
The animals have trained themselves to haul their bodies up to surfaces. They have been able to get aboard boats using swim stairs and low surfaces. The Harbor Commission has received complaints, and the sea lion nuisance has been getting worse in the past six weeks, Miller told The Register.
The Register reports that some boat owners have taken the matter into their own hands by pulling wire through milk cartons and hanging them around the boats.
Dunlap told The Register that someone should have contacted him when the sea lions started taking over his boat.[/b]