The SeaDoc Society is a program of the Wildlife Health Center at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Tax ID# 94-6036494.

The Mystery of Surplus Predation

north beachIn the Salish Sea, some transient killer whales seem to be killing sea lions for no particular reason. Joe Gaydos provided background for a Kitsap Sun piece by Christopher Dunagan discussing the four sea lions apparently killed by blunt trauma from orcas in a single month.

A 2005 publication by Gaydos discussed five harbor seal pups found decapitated by killer whales, but not eaten.

The article discusses possible causes of this "surplus predation" and reinforces the importance of quick reporting of stranded and dead marine mammals, because the faster the animals can be recovered, the more we can learn from them.

Kitsap Sun: http://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2010/05/14/transient-orcas-may-be-l...

Photo: Stranding Network volunteer Maria Webster standing by one of the dead Steller sea lions on North Beach of Orcas just before SeaDoc necropsied it. Credit: Joe Gaydos.

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Healthy ecosystems support economic prosperity. The Salish Sea provides abundant natural capital that contributes substantially to the financial prosperity of the region. Unhealthy ecosystems cost money because we lose the opportunity to benefit from them. The Salish Sea's deteriorating health threatens our economic well being and quality of life. SeaDoc uses science to find solutions to the problems facing the fish, wildlife and people of the Salish Sea.

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