Elephant seal shot in the head and mutilated near San Simeon — police want answers
The remains of a female elephant seal were found near a popular viewing area on Highway 1 near San Simeon last fall — it had been shot in the head, its tail fins cut off and chest cavity cut open, officials said.
Now, law enforcement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information that leads to a civil penalty or criminal conviction in the September shooting death, the agency announced Tuesday in a news release.
Elephant seals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which carries civil penalties up to $28,520 and a year in prison.
The massive seals come ashore twice a year in rookeries like those on the beaches of Piedras Blancas near San Simeon, a location that has played a key role in the recovery of the species that was nearly extinct due to commercial hunting around 1900.
“We’re asking for help from anyone who may have seen or heard or knows anything related to this incident,” NOAA Fisheries Special Agent Jeremy Munkelt said in a prepared statement.
The remains were found Sept. 29, 2019. A bullet was found in the seal and will undergo forensic analysis, the release said.
Investigators performed a field examination instead of a detailed autopsy in a lab because of the remote location, the condition of the remains, and the obvious cause of death, a NOAA Fisheries spokesman said in response to Tribune questions about an autopsy.
Large marine mammals are often the target of poachers around the world. It’s unknown if that’s the case here.
“It appeared that some organs may have been removed, but that may have also been the work of scavengers,” public information officer Michael Milstein told The Tribune. “That is a good question about whether there is a market for tail fins. We’re not aware of a black market for elephant seal parts but that does not mean it doesn’t exist, as it’s hard to know what some people may place a value on.”
“We are hopeful that given the number of visitors and the amount of traffic past Piedras Blancas that someone will have seen or noticed something that will point us in the right direction,” Milstein said.
He said the elephant seal was female. While the lower half of its body was removed, it was identified as female because it lacked the male’s distinctive nose.
Anyone with information should call the investigating agent directly at 831-647-4203 or NOAA Fisheries’ 24/7 enforcement hotline at 800-853-1964. To report a dead, injured, or stranded marine mammal, call the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network at 866-767-6114.
This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 12:26 PM.
