San Diego’s La Jolla Cove is famous for its large gathering of sea lions and, unfortunately, inconsiderate tourists who can’t resist disturbing the mammals.
The accompanying footage, shared Monday by Lajolla.ca, shows a man repeatedly bending over to touch a napping sea lion. That’s not only dangerous, but a clear violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which bans harassment of any kind.
La Jolla Cove tourist repeatedly touches sea lion.
Lajolla.ca’s description begins: “Don’t be this guy: An unfortunate but apparently necessary reminder that the sea lions at La Jolla Cove are wild animals with rights to peace, not petting zoo creatures for your entertainment.”
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Sadly, this is not a rare occurrence at the popular tourist destination. It happens almost daily and, for whatever reason, there is little or no enforcement.
But such actions, when they’re witnessed, almost always spark outrage.
A top comment on the Lajolla.ca post: “Can we issue lifeguards pellet guns for these special people?”
Another follower remarked, “It’s crazy there are people like this and I’m grateful I know nobody that would do this. Absolutely stupid behavior.”
The San Diego Seal Society also chimed in with a link that shows how to report violations to rangers and various officials.
The group also commented: “Thank you for posting this. Our entire page is sadly filled with videos just like these from daily occurrences at the Cove.”
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Footage shows San Diego tourist refusing to let sea lion rest