A viral video on TikTok shows two large sea lions chasing after beachgoers at a crowded California beach on Friday, raising concerns about humans encroaching on the animals' turf.
TikTok user Charlianne Yeyna told NBC News that she took the footage at La Jolla Cove, a small beach bordered by cliffs on both sides, in La Jolla, San Diego.
"The sea lions were sleeping and were just massive on the beach and I was just watching them and this woman got really close to them, like 4 feet away, and was trying to take a photo of it up close, and it just woke up and started chasing everybody," Yeyna said.
California sea lions are generally skittish around humans, but the males will aggressively defend their territory during breeding season, which falls in summer. It's unknown whether the animals in the video are males, but John Hildebrand, a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, thinks they could be.
"During breeding season sea lion males will try to establish territories and collect a harem of females," Hildebrand wrote in an email. "I am not sure that the animal in the TikTok is a male, but if so, it would make sense that he could be trying to keep people out of an area that he is defending to keep his females."
Hildebrand added that the sea lions at La Jolla Cove are wild animals and when they aggressively approach people, it can be dangerous for both sea lions and humans.
Hildebrand said that he has seen an entire bridal party (the bride, groom, best man and bridesmaids) all trying to gather around a group of sea lions at La Jolla Cove as part of a photo shoot.
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July 12, 2022 at 02:37AM
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Sea lions chase crowd at California beach in viral video - SFGATE
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