California man caught on camera harassing sea lions

MONTEREY, California (KSBW) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is investigating an incident of animal harassment in Monterey after a man was caught on camera whipping sea lions with what appeared to be caution tape.

The incident was recorded at Sister Park. The man climbed over a fence near Fisherman’s Wharf and scared the sea lions.

“They should rename this from Sister City Park to Sea Lion Park whenever this happens,” a local resident said.

“Oh my God!” said a person reacting to the video.

“I saw that this morning, and man, that’s pretty lame,” said another local.

“I can’t say what I want to say,” another Marge Brigadier said.

Marge, a volunteer who answers tourists’ questions about the wildlife, said people often harass the animals.

“How often do you have to go up to people to tell them to not get too close?” asked KSBW 8.

“Pretty often, whether it’s divers, whether it’s kayakers, that’s mostly what I see,” Brigadier said.

A spokesperson with the Marine Mammal Center emphasized that this is a statewide problem.

“At least on the disturbance numbers as a whole. So that in Corpus is a big spectrum of people that are just getting too close, people that might be trying to help the animal but not doing the right behavior. That is a number we’ve seen growing over the years,” Adam Ratner with the Marine Mammal Sanctuary said.

“Obviously, an extreme severe case of harassment,” Ratner added.

The video has been reported to NOAA, which has reached out to the Monterey Police Department to identify the man responsible.

If no one can identify him, NOAA says there may likely be no further action.

“I trust their judgment, given what is on their docket and how they need to be able to prioritize resources,” Ratner said.

If you see anyone harming or harassing marine wildlife, you can report it to the NOAA hotline enforcement office at 800-853-1964.

Regardless of whether someone reported it while that incident happened, NOAA does not have anyone available to respond in person. That position has been vacant for at least a few months.