Federal officials are investigating a video that appears to show a man kicking a sea lion Wednesday night near La Jolla Cove in San Diego, NOAA Fisheries spokesperson Rachel Hager said by email.
A video circulating on social media appeared to show a young man kicking a sea lion perched on the edge of a seawall and following the animal as it tried to get away; the person in the video has not been publicly identified and the video could not immediately be verified.
Rachel Hager 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."
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said he has asked police to review the purported video and said on X, "This disgusting act of animal cruelty is unacceptable. We must protect our wildlife."
The San Diego Police Department said it fielded tips about the video and asked those concerned to reach out to NOAA; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the San Diego Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for information.
The Sierra Club Seal Society reported the incident to authorities and said it would monitor the investigation's progress.
Robyn Davidoff, chair of the Seal Society, said, "That kind of behavior is not acceptable, whether it's a person being punched or an animal. Because these are a protected species, this is assault."
Harassing sea lions is prohibited under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, which the article says carries penalties of more than $30,000 per violation and possible prison time.
The piece notes the city has posted signage that marks areas closed to visitors, prohibits dogs, and warns people, "CAUTION: DO NOT APPROACH SEALS/SEA LIONS," and that clashes between humans and the mammals have occurred during the warmer months of pupping season.
As examples, the article says a San Diego city park ranger in February guided a family of tourists away from sea lions after witnesses reported children were throwing sand and rocks, and it cites a May case in which a visitor to Maui, Igor Lytvynchuk of Covington, Washington, was charged by federal prosecutors with harassing a protected animal; his lawyer said he was trying to protect sea turtles when he allegedly threw a rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal, he has pleaded not guilty, and the case is awaiting trial, court records show.
The footage appears to show a man wearing a T-shirt and shorts approaching a sea lion resting on a seawall and kicking the animal while another person can be heard laughing; the footage then appears to show the person attempting to kick the sea lion again as the animal retreats from its resting spot.
NOAA Fisheries' Office of Law Enforcement said in a social media post on Friday, July 24, that it is investigating reports of a video on social media that shows an interaction between an individual and a sea lion allegedly in La Jolla Cove, and asked anyone with information to contact the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement at 800-853-1964. La Jolla Cove is about 13 miles northwest of downtown San Diego.
The Marine Mammal Commission says California sea lions are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which was enacted in 1972, and NOAA says it is illegal to feed, capture, harm, kill, or harass sea lions.