Travelers and residents have been showing up to admire the sea lions on San Carlos Beach in Monterey.
Benjamin Fanjoy / Getty Images
Since 1972, sea lions and other creatures have been safeguarded by the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. The law makes it illegal for humans to harass, harm, feed or kill marine mammals in the United States. As such, local officials have encouraged sea lion enthusiasts to give the animals a wide berth of at least 150 feet.
“People just need to think about how they would feel if they were resting on their bed taking a nap and something big kept coming and chasing them out of the house,” says Marge Brigadier, a volunteer with Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, to Reuters’ Dylan Bouscher.
The sea lions are resting and eating as part of their annual migration north from the Channel Islands.
Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu via Getty Images
According to local officials, the sea lions on San Carlos Beach are part of the group that breeds on the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. They journey northward at the end of every summer, but they don’t often take up residence on San Carlos Beach. Usually, they hang out closer to Monterey’s Fisherman’s Wharf or on other nearby sandy shorelines.
Monterey serves as a rest stop of sorts, where the sea lions can gorge on fish before continuing onward to Northern California.
“They’re just here on holiday, having a good time resting and eating,” Huelga says to the Monterey Herald.
California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) are highly intelligent, playful eared seals that live along the West Coast of North America. They’re known for making loud barking noises to communicate with each other. They are large creatures, with males weighing up to 700 pounds and stretching 7.5 feet long. The smaller females weigh 240 pounds and grow to six feet.
Hunting in coastal waters, California sea lions eat a wide array of prey, including sardines, squid, anchovies, mackerel and rockfish. California sea lions typically live between 20 and 30 years.
An estimated 355,000 individuals live along the coast of California, as well as on both sides of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, according to the National Park Service. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies California sea lions as a species of “least concern.”
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Filed Under:
Animals,
Beaches,
California,
Mammals,
Sea Lions,
Tourism,
Water,
wildlife
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Publish date : 2024-08-28 06:48:00
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