A local photographer says young kids were throwing “handfuls of debris, stones, dirt” and “sand” at the marine mammal on Feb. 22
NEED TO KNOW
- A family of tourists was removed from La Jolla Cove in San Diego after reportedly harassing wild sea lions on the beach
- Local photographer Jim Grants tells local outlet two children were throwing “handfuls of debris, stones, dirt” and “sand” at the marine mammals
- Federal law prohibits harassing sea lions, but local rangers can only issue warnings, not citations
A family of tourists was recently removed from a popular California wildlife attraction after reportedly harassing wild sea lions on the beach.
San Diego photographer Jim Grant tells local outlets NBC San Diego and CBS 8 the incident occurred on Sunday, Feb. 22, at the popular La Jolla Cove beach area. Grants says he was at the cove taking still photos when he witnessed a park ranger confront a mother of two children.“The two children, a boy and a girl, they were throwing handfuls of debris, stones, dirt, sand, at these sea lions, and he forcefully, a couple of times, told them to stop and they just didn’t stop,” Grant tells CBS 8.
Overall, Grant says the ranger was respectful, but his frustration was obvious. The ranger eventually called the mother up from the beach, and that’s when Grant began recording the interaction on his phone.
Federal law prohibits the touching, feeding or harassing of sea lions; however, since the Marine Mammal Protection Act falls under federal jurisdiction, local rangers are unable to issue citations. The mom was merely given a warning and ordered to leave the cove with her family…