It seems the poor sea lions at La Jolla Cove in San Diego, California, can't catch a break from inconsiderate tourists.
In a recent video posted on social media by the Instagram account Tourons of National Parks (@touronsofnationalparks), tourists were filmed getting uncomfortably close to a sea lion. With some people standing as close as a few feet, it appeared the sea lion had little space to roam freely in its natural habitat.
That is until the sea lion began charging the tourists, who scrambled away from the animal.
Fortunately, it appears no person in the video was harmed, but close calls like this have become embarrassingly common as more and more tourists have been captured getting too close to wildlife.
While having a Snow White moment with wildlife would be a dream, the real world is unfortunately not so whimsical. There are reasons why park and wildlife officials have instituted rules about approaching wildlife.
For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration urges visitors to stay at least 150 feet (the length of half a football field) away from sea life. Guidances like this one help protect wildlife from unnecessary disturbance and stress and also serve as a safety precaution for humans.
Ignoring rules like this can not only irritate wildlife but lead to their euthanization, as CNN highlights. Plus, it forces park officials to spend time enforcing rules when it could be spent protecting and conserving the natural spaces and their ecosystems for future generations to enjoy.
It is extremely important to respect and honor the rules and regulations of wild spaces to ensure natural areas like La Jolla Cove remain open for humans and animals.
In the comments of the video, users had little empathy for the tourists, and many took the sea lion's side:
"It's their world. We're just living in it," someone commented.
"That is wild! Humans suck!" wrote another person.
Others were completely fed up with the thoughtless behavior of tourists:
"Close the entire beach," was one of the top comments on the video. "This is not fair to the animals and a danger to people."
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