A Killer Idea Will Fake Orca Give Sea Lions The Willies?

Fake Willy, a 16-foot fiberglass model of a killer whale, was anchored Wednesday in the waters of Puget Sound to see if it will work as an aquatic scarecrow.

Promoters at radio station KISW hope Fake Willy will scare away the sea lions that prey on dwindling stocks of steelhead at the Ballard Locks fish ladder in Seattle.

The faux orca is anchored 10 feet under water, just off Seattle’s West Point, for a 48-hour test.

If the test is successful, it could lead to a final permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The idea of Fake Willy is attractive because, if it works, it could prevent wildlife agents from killing nuisance sea lions, said project director Rudy McCoy, who is working with KISW.

Since the early 1980s, sea lions have gathered just below the locks that separate Puget Sound from the ship canal, where they find it easy to pick off steelhead and salmon that must pass the locks to reach freshwater streams to spawn.

Wildlife experts tried for years to scare the animals away, using firecrackers, underwater noises, rubber bullets and other devices. All failed, as did nets near the locks’ fish ladder and trapping the animals and relocating them off the Pacific Coast.

Last year, five of the most voracious sea lions were marked for death. However, only three were captured last spring and Sea World of Florida agreed to take them in. One of those animals, nicknamed Hondo, died last month at the Orlando park from an apparent infection.

Biologists are dubious about Fake Willy.

John Calambokidis, a biologist with Cascadia Research in Olympia, said most orcas in Puget Sound eat fish, not sea lions. A few transient whales do eat sea lions, he said.

Fake Willy has a “low probability” of success but probably won’t do any harm, Calambokidis said.

The name Fake Willy is a takeoff on the popular “Free Willy” movies, starring an orca named Keiko, which now lives at an aquarium on the Oregon Coast.