Video appears to show a person kicking sea lion on San Diego beach; NOAA investigating

Federal wildlife authorities are investigating after a video appeared to show a person kicking a protected sea lion at a beach in California.

A spokesperson for the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed an ongoing investigation into the incident but declined to provide additional details Sunday.

The video appears to show a person throwing kicks at the sea lion at La Jolla Cove in San Diego as at least one other person can be heard laughing in the background. The person follows the sea lion, throwing more kicks at the animal as it tries to scoot away before the video ends.

“NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement is investigating reports of a video on social media that shows an interaction between an individual and sea lion, allegedly in La Jolla Cove,” a spokesperson for the agency said. “In the video, the individual appears to be kicking the sea lion. This is an ongoing investigation, and we cannot provide further details at this time.”

The agency said it has only four enforcement officers covering the entire state of California, relying on partnerships with local park rangers and California Fish and Wildlife for enforcement presence at the cove, CBS affiliate KFMB reported.

“There are rangers here, and then we are also here, but we’re just volunteers, so we can’t be here at all times, and we can’t really enforce anything like that,” Ashley Hurwitz, a Seal Society volunteer, told the station.

The person in the video has not been publicly identified.

Sea lions are federally protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and harassing a sea lion is punishable by civil penalties of up to roughly $36,000 and up to a year in prison. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s guidelines say that people should stay at least 50 feet away from sea lions, seals and other species protected by the act.

“This disgusting act of animal cruelty is unacceptable,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said in a post on X. He acknowledged the federal investigation and said he has directed local law enforcement to review the footage.

The Sierra Club’s Seal Society estimates there have been 10 sea lion pup deaths at La Jolla Cove this year, KFMB reported. Advocates link the deaths to mothers abandoning pups after being scared off by human interference.

In May, a tourist was arrested after a witness recorded him chucking a coconut-sized rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal off a Maui beach. His lawyer later claimed his client was trying to protect sea turtles.