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Oregon: Heat Killed Sea Lions by William Yardley New York Times, May 16, 2008

Six sea lions caught in traps at a major dam on the Columbia River died of heat exhaustion, not gunshots, as had earlier been suspected, federal officials said this week. The sea lions, which were found dead on May 4, feed off salmon and other fish making their way past the Bonneville Dam. They were being trapped as part of a federal and state effort to protect endangered Chinook salmon. Wildlife officials are authorized to permanently remove, and in some cases kill, California sea lions that had been previously tagged for feeding at the dam. One of the six that died was a tagged animal. Officials initially believed that the animals had been shot in the cages but later determined that they died from heat exhaustion. For reasons that remain unclear, gates on the cages, shown covered above, had closed unexpectedly, preventing the sea lions from cooling off in the water.