Beachgoers at La Jolla Cove in San Diego had a bit of a scare when it appeared as though a pair of sea lions sharing the beach decided they’d had enough of the harassment.
A video, which blew up on TikTok, showed the moment the sea lions looked like they’d had enough.
“I started recording because it was really funny to watch, for me to see all these tourists getting blown away by these giant sea lions,” Charlianne Yeyna, who recorded the incident, told NBC San Diego. “The sea lions were sleeping and were just massive on the beach and I was just watching them and this woman got really close to them, like four feet away, and was trying to take a photo of it up close, and it just woke up and started chasing everybody.”
If you’ve been around sea lions lounging on the beach, you’re likely aware of two things: first, they’re enormous. Adult males are about eight feet long and weigh an average of 600 pounds, but often increase up to 1,000 pounds during mating season. And second, they do not smell… good. But they sure are cute animals, aren’t they? Like giant, fat dogs of the sea, they’re generally not the worst-tempered creatures, and they rarely pose a threat to humans. Still, though, as with any other wild animal, it’s best to keep your distance.
Although it does certainly look as though the sea lions in the video are chasing the beachgoers, a spokesperson for SeaWorld San Diego thinks there might be a different reason.
“You would really only notice if you watch a lot of sea lion behavior, but the fact that one jumps in the water and the other does so quickly after shows they are following one another,” the spokesperson wrote to NBC 7. “People should be cautious and keep their space at a reasonable distance. Although sea lions may get close to visitors along the beach, it’s always recommended that we/the public do not get close and interrupt their behavior.”
As of 2022, the San Diego City Council decided to close Point La Jolla, which is a stone’s throw north of the cove, for sea lion pupping season. The closure lasts from May 1 through Oct. 31, but sea lions aren’t capable of reading the signs and will land on whichever stretch of sand they choose. The closure came after the public continually harassed — generally out of ignorance more than malice — the sea lions. According to reports, the California Coastal Commission gave the order to the San Diego City Council.
It is certainly possible to share wild spaces with wild animals, and some La Jolla residents place the blame on the people. “I think this is their natural habitat,” Kellen Clark, who regularly swims at La Jolla Cove, told NBC. “If anything, it’s the people who are getting too close.”
