Scientists ID mystery killer of decapitated seals found on California beaches since 2016

 Scientists have solved the case of a large number of mutilated seals found on Northern California beaches since 2016.

Sarah Grimes of the Noyo Center for Marine Science investigated the marine mammal deaths, and told The Mercury News that she suspected a responsible culprit, but needed proof.

"It was horrible," Grimes told the Bay Area newspaper. "I was like Marine Mammal CSI, looking at all the dead puppies with their heads torn off, and I was like, 'What the hell did that do?'"

The headless bodies were found in McKerricher State Park, where a University of California Santa Cruz student caught the guilty party in the act.

"We set up camera traps and got a very convincing video of a coyote dragging a harbor seal pup away and decapitating it," said Ph.D. said student Frankie Geraty. "We are confident that poaching has occurred at four locations along the Northern California coast."

The researchers are not sharing the video yet while they try to understand the "seemingly new predator-prey relationship," the Los Angeles Times reports.

Coyotes are appearing more frequently in the area after decades of being poisoned and hunted by farmers and ranchers.

"It's really a balance of nature," Grimes told the LA Times. "The coyote is not the villain. It's part of the ecosystem that's been missing for a few years."

Scientists are still working to understand why coyotes are only moving toward the seal's head rather than its body, but they believe it may have something to do with the nutritional content of the seal's brain compared to other parts of the body. Could.

According to the park's website, an annual closure is in effect at Point Reyes National Seashore until March 31, 2024, to protect elephant seal pups from disturbance during pupping season.

The seals found mauled by coyotes are harbor seals, and research into hunting patterns and impacts on marine animal populations will continue.