Jordan Gerbich, 30, will serve three months in federal prison and pay a $1,000 fine for killing the animal
A man has been sentenced to three months in federal prison for shooting a protected northern elephant seal to death on the central California coast.
Armed with a .45-caliber handgun and a flashlight, on the night of 2 September 2019 Jordan Gerbich, 30, opened fire on an elephant seal at a popular viewing area where the giant aquatic mammals haul out along the shore near the Monterey Bay national marine sanctuary. The elephant seal was discovered the following morning with a bullet wound to the head and its tail fins cut off, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.