At the beginning of a video filmed at La Jolla Cove recently, you can hear a San Diego County lifeguard make a PA announcement stating: “Please give that large male sea lion plenty of room, they have bit people.” But in what seems to be a typical 2023 response from humans, the warning fell on deaf ears. Those who did not obey got a good scare from two roughly 600-pound animals charging at them faster than an NFL linebacker. RELATED: Horror Video of Tourist Being Chased and Bitten By Seal
The popular beach in La Jolla is a favorite for locals and tourists alike but as you can see from the comments left below on both YouTube and Instagram, the locals know to give the sea lions space. Tourists, it seem, like to push the limits. @whoisjaphet filmed and posted the video to Instagram with the “Caption: Locals only; tourists, go home – Chonkers, the sea lion.”
It’s not clear why @whoisjaphet, who was clearly filming from the water, wasn’t charged but a commenter posted that very question: “Just curious why don’t they go after the person recording? Are they in a boat?” to which @whoisjaphet replied, “Once I knew I wasn’t the focus of their aggression I relaxed and started laughing.”
Here are some other comments from viewers:
“Stupid humans. Good for the Sea Lions.”
“Haha I went swimming there last weekend but the sea lions were minding their own business.”
“I’m from San Diego. 👋🏻. This particular beach was “Childrens Beach” for like 50 years. I used to go there as a kid and hardly ever saw seals or sea lions. Then the environmentalists decided we needed to close off the beach to humans during certain times of the year. Now we have humans and seals fighting for territory. Many people don’t realize the brut size speed and strength of Sea Lions (seals are smaller but fast). It’s been a recipe for disaster. They need to either close it off completely to humans or not.”
“It’s called staying at a respectful distance. Not putting your stupid phone in their face. The sea lions might have been just messing with those people, but they were still too close and too many. I was just there a week ago. Got a couple nice pictures of them and I didn’t have to get close at all. Now those people need to go to Yellowstone and try to pet the big fuzzy cows 🙄”
The last commenter is right about Yellowstone and other popular wild animal tourist attractions. Here’s a video we recently featured from Yellowstone, where an influencer unbelievably stands inches from a bison’s face to take ridiculous selfies.
And they are also right about staying at a respectful distance. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) marine life viewing guidelines, “For seals and sea lions in the water, or on shore, remain at least 50 yards away—about 1/2 a football field. This includes people and pets.”
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