02/22/07 Super Sea Lions

Here in the Northwest, salmon aficionados of which there are many would like nothing better then to rid our ocean and rivers of the carnivorous and dreadfully hated &sea lion. Yet in an odd twist, these same individuals could end up being protected by the very marine mammal they detest. Could there be bigger lesson here? The waters of the Pudget Sound are venerable to terrorists so the Navy has determined that the best way to secure them and the Kitsap-Bangor Naval Base is to use dozens of trained seal lions and dolphins to detect underwater mines and locate suspicious swimmers. Amazingly Sea Lions can be trained to be kind of an underwater rope horse, herding a swimmer then cuffing them with a rope they carry in their mouth that allows the villain to reeled into a boat. Pretty cool. Even Sea Lions have their advocates so prior to implanting the final stages of this security mission the navy is working with groups concerned for the welfare of sea lions. That in itself is an oxymoron in the Northwest but tell me, other then the fact they are a source of food can a salmon protect society