Two-year-old sea lion shot dead on California beach as police offer $20k reward in hunt for 'sick' suspect

Federal authorities in California are still searching for a suspect they say shot and killed a 2-year-sea lion that was lying on an Orange County beach.

Authorities with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are now offering a $20,000 reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of the suspect. The male sea lion was found between lifeguard stations on Aug. 7, still alive, with a fresh gunshot wound in his back at Bolsa Chica State Beach in Orange County, according to a statement from NOAA.

“The Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Orange County rescued the male sea lion, but it died from its injuries the following day,” NOAA officials said.

• Oregon woman gets probation after suffocating and freezing puppies to feed pet snakes

• Feds confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being investigated for alleged decapitation of dead whale

Authorities with NOAA are now asking for the public's help in tracking down the suspect and learning the details about the shooting and what led up to it.

“The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits the harassment, hunting, capturing, or killing of sea lions and other marine mammals,” officials said. “However, the law allows for non-lethal methods to deter marine mammals from damaging private property, including fishing gear and catch, if it does not injure or kill an animal.”

All marine mammals including the California sea lion are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, which has helped protect and bolster population of marine mammals since at least 1975 after the protections were put into place.

“California sea lions are easy to view in the wild, but this puts them at higher risk of human-related injuries and death. Feeding or trying to feed them is harmful and illegal because it changes their natural behaviors and makes them less wary of people and vessels,” the NOAA said. “They learn to associate humans with an easy meal and change their natural hunting practices—for example, they take bait catch directly off fishing gear. Sometimes they fall victim to retaliation (such as shooting) by frustrated boaters and fishermen.”

California sea lions' habitat extends all the way from Baja California in Mexico along the Pacific coast up to Vancouver Island, British Columbia in Canada. California alone bolsters a population of nearly 270,000 individuals, according to the Marine Mammal Center.

The breed in mainly offshore islands off the coasts of California and Mexico including California's Channel Islands which sit off the coast of Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles. Sea lions can be observed at many of the states public beaches but interacting with them is not advised as illegal feeding of these animals risks disturbing and endangering them, according to NOAA.