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Sergeant Todd Thompson, a game officer with the Oregon State Police, said this particular sea lion has become increasingly aggressive, and they are closely monitoring the situation.
The biting incident took place at around 5 p.m. Thursday at Port Dock 7, Thompson said. An OSP game officer already at the dock on another issue responded to the area where the incident occurred. The man, who was not named by the police, suffered puncture wounds on his thigh, and "my trooper urged him to go to the hospital and get it looked at," Thompson said.
Probably the biggest concern with an injury of this nature is infection. "They (sea lions) carry leptospirosis, forms of hepatitis, all kinds of things," said Thompson.
The "perpetrator of the assault" is one of the resident sea lions (all of which are males) that has been showing up in Yaquina Bay on a regular basis for the past several years. This particular sea lion is identifiable by an eye deformity, the result of a previous injury. "It sounds like this guy's been around for a few years on the dock - getting cranky in his old age or who knows what," Thompson said.
Sea lions tend to be pretty territorial, and this animal has been hanging around the Port Dock 7 area, where several boats are currently selling tuna. "Parts of fish carcasses end up going in the bay, legally or illegally," Thompson said, "and basically attracts them in. I think that's what was happening in this case. He was showing up for a food source.
"We've had sea lion problems in the past," continued Thompson. "It's almost like a garbage can bear. They have an easy food source, they keep coming back, and they're not stupid."
Port of Newport officials were made aware of this sea lion problem and will assist in notifying people in the area of the potential danger. The Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network has also been contacted, Thompson said, "and they're going to post some signs."
To discourage the sea lion's aggressive behavior, "basically we're trying to haze it out of the area," said Thompson. "We've seal bombed him a couple of times, and we're trying not to take it to the next level." If the sea lion continues to present a safety hazard to people on the docks, however, then OSP will need to consider other options, he said.
Steve Card is assistant editor for the News-Times. He can be reached at 265-8571 ext. 224, or stevecard@newportnewstimes.com.
