Sea lion’s head goes missing from Alaska pier

KETCHIKAN, Alaska — A sea lion head has disappeared from a pier in Ketchikan, Alaska.

The head had belonged to a massive male sea lion that was found dead in July.

The Ketchikan Daily News reports the head had been dangling from the pier into the water so it could be examined after it was cleaned by ocean critters.

Scientist Gary Freitag of the University of Alaska Fairbanks had examined the animal’s other tissues over the summer for clues to its cause of death. He was planning to examine the head after it was submerged for about six months.

But within two weeks the head was missing. Freitag says it looks like the rope was cut through.

Freitag says he can’t imagine anyone taking it, because it was probably “pretty ripe.”