Since 2016, the unsettling discovery of decapitated seal pups on California’s coastlines baffled scientists and the public alike. Initial speculations leaned towards human interference, given the gruesome nature of the finds, where pups were discovered with their heads violently removed.
However, a closer examination by scientists revealed that the severing did not bear the marks of a knife but rather a more jagged pattern. To unravel this mystery, researchers from UC Santa Cruz and the Noyo Center for Marine Science in Mendocino County, including PhD student Frankie Gerraty and stranding coordinator Sarah Grimes, deployed camera traps in Northern California. The resulting footage was both shocking and revelatory.
The cameras captured a coyote in the act of dragging a lifeless seal pup and then decapitating it. This evidence was a breakthrough, disproving the theory of human involvement and highlighting a brutal aspect of wildlife behavior.
Grimes described the discovery as “surprising,” noting the rarity of such interactions between seals and coyotes, as coyotes typically prey on live marine animals.
The footage, set to be released publicly, offers a clear visual of the coyote’s predatory behavior. Gerraty confirmed that such predation was not isolated, with similar occurrences recorded at four different sites along the Northern California coast.
Researchers are now delving deeper into this phenomenon, particularly focusing on why coyotes prefer the heads of the seal pups. This grisly trend was first noticed by Steveston resident David Stuart in 2016, who likened the scenes to a crime site. His early observations have now found a scientific explanation, shedding light on a previously misunderstood aspect of coastal wildlife interaction.
