Fake orca nearly drowns before it can scare sea lions

When a 32-foot replica killer whale buzzed through the water to scare off hundreds of sea lions piled on Oregon docks, onlookers cheered. And then the dummy orca went belly-up.

The motorized fiberglass orca was brought to the seaside town of Astoria on Thursday as a sort of maritime Clint Eastwood — called upon to deal with ne’er-dowells, in this case sea lions crowding onto docks and making it difficult for locals to access their boats.

But the orca’s first day on the job was a flop.

About 1,000 people cheered as the dummy whale — with its human operator inside — took to the water Thursday night. Jim Knight, executive director of the Port of Astoria, said sea lions that were crowded onto the docks became “deathly silent.”

But as a cargo ship passed by, the phony orca started to list from the vessel’s wake. And then the bogus orca capsized.

“Our crew from the port had to go rescue the operator so he didn’t drown,” Knight said.

So what did the sea lions thing about this spectacle?

“They probably think it’s dead now that it’s belly up,” Knight said. “You can’t make this stuff up.”

That was not the first fiasco for the dummy orca.

The replica whale — loaned by a whale-watching business — was delivered overland on Thursday from Bellingham, Washington. After arrival, the orca’s outboard motor flooded and a replacement had to be found.

Sea lion numbers along the West Coast have grown sharply since they were protected under a 1972 federal law. As water temperatures increase off the coast of California because of climate change, the animals have sought cooler waters to the north in Oregon. The sea lions who have been taking over docks at the Port of Astoria are also attracted by bountiful runs of salmon and smelt in the nearby Columbia River, biologists say.