san diego — Blog — Wild Austin

It’s seal pup season on the west coast and a number of beaches in Southern California are closed. These small stretches of coastline are seasonal habitats for sea lions to raise their young. Groups of females lay in the sand while anxious 2500lb males patrol the water for any threats to their delicate social status. As a constant reminder of who belongs to whom the males bark constantly into the sea like an audible zip code.

Female sea lions relax on the beach with their young, La Jolla California. Photo credit, Author

The other dominant mammal present, humans, walk shoulder to shoulder on the boardwalk observing the spectacle play out. With a nearly 50 ft cliff in between the two species, possible interactions are kept to a minimum. However, not every beach belongs to the sea lions. Up and down the coast signs like the one below remind people that these beaches don’t belong to just us. The idea of sharing the beach is about as foreign to humans as it is to sea lions. The beach belongs to us, is what many people think and will say. As early as 7 am tourists flock to the ocean to lay down their towels and post up their umbrellas to Claim their spot for the day. Their territory that belongs to them. Hey that’s my spot I got here first it belongs to me. As if any part of the planet could actually belong to one person. Yet in Southern California it’s the locals that many people have to contend with and they don’t take kindly to their nap location being occupied.

The day after we visited La Jolla cove a male sea lion cleared off the shared beach so that his gang of females could bask in the sand undisturbed. As children and parents ran for the hills leaving towels and buckets behind I couldn’t help but feel like I’d never witnessed an animal run off a group of people. When humans come up against an animal that won’t be moved from its habitat, we often kill it to get our space. But in the case of a near 2 ton protected species we are left with no option but to give up. I have been thinking a lot since then about ways humans share our space with animals. Humans often share space with animals that we find “inoffensive”. Birds are cute and don’t bother anyone, squirrels can be annoying but they get to stay, snakes are a no. How did we decide that some animals can stay and others aren’t welcome? More people get hurt from domestic dogs than bats, yet ask anyone if they want bats near their house and they will probably say no.

A tourist walks over rocks to inch closer to take a photo of a sea lion. Anyone heard of the zoom feature my dude?

Part of creating a healthier and more sustainable planet is deciding how we are going to share the beach for generations to come. What will that look like? Projects like, homegrown national park have taken the lead by registering places where people have intentionally dedicated their yard or courtyard to nature. A commitment to plant native plants for animals, even providing water or shade. Recently states have realized that animal crossings are necessary to connect pieces of habitat safely over roads. California broke ground on the largest wildlife crossing over the 101 in April. Beyond infrastructure and yards, sharing the beach is also a mindset. We live here with the animals and plants on this planet and we need them.