Seal pups take over kids beach
A school of about 200 harbor seals has emerged victorious in the battle between those who want to protect one of California’s top seal-spotting places and those who cherish the “Children’s Pool,” a cove built 70 years ago to give tots a safe place to swim.
If the stench and bacteria from feces and birth byproducts at a San Diego seal pupping beach has not kept the people away, then officials hope a rope just might.
The decade-long feud took a new turn this week after San Diego officials roped off a prime stretch of the La Jolla shoreline to keep people from disturbing the harbor seals who have taken up residence there.
Any move, even a walk across the sand or a seagull in flight, can spook the skittish animals to flee into the ocean and abandon their newborn babies on the shore, thus violating federal marine mammal protection laws.
Moreover, seals need adequate sun and sand time in order to maintain good health, said Joe Cordaro, wildlife biologist with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.
Cordaro’s office urged the city to act after receiving an increase in complaints that angry residents were harassing the marine mammals during their breeding process.
The council voted last week 7-1 to erect the barrier each year from January 1 through May 1, which is considered to be the end of pupping season.
Federal officials have also installed 24-hour surveillance cameras in the cove to watch for people deliberately swimming, kayaking or sunbathing in the area.
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