The locals are making their presence felt on a San Diego beach, and the tourists are, at turns, mesmerized and terrified by them. We are talking about sea lions.
These huge beasts, which are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and can’t be approached by humans, are said to usually not be aggressive towards humans.
But in La Jolla Cove, chaos ensued, and dozens of beachgoers in San Diego were left running for their lives when a sea lion charged at beachgoers who apparently approached its pups.
The New York Post reports:
“The sea lion was captured on video swimming around La Jolla Cove with the babies before it began barking at the swimmers on June 23.
‘Oh, they are kind of close, get out of the water, fat ass’, one person can be heard saying before the sea lion rushes out of the water.”
People jumped up and backed off as the sea lion charged toward them.
Some took their sweet time carrying their belongings away while others tried to document their close encounter.
“’Visited La Jolla, CA this weekend to see the Sea Lions in their (natural) habitat and to learn more about these protected ecosystems’, [Beachgoer Lauren] Bertrand said on TikTok. ‘The people were peopling and this big guy was NOT having it’.”
An adult sea lion and a juvenile come in full sprint toward swimmers, forcing them to scramble out of the way however they can.
Luckily, the hefty beast stopped the attack before anyone was injured.
A mere 200 yards away from La Jolla Cove is Point La Jolla, a rocky stretch of coastline that turned into a hot spot for sea lions.
Watch the sea lions ‘evacuating the beach’ in 2023.
“Point La Jolla was closed for public access indefinitely last September following complaints from residents and activists to protect the sea lions.
The unanimous city council decision came months after a similar situation where two large sea lions charged at beachgoers wading in the waters of La Jolla Cove.”
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