Sea lions were captured on a video chasing away several beachgoers in Southern California, as a stark reminder that the mammals also want privacy.
The video, which was initially uploaded on TikTok by Charlianne Yeyn recently, received over 10 million views on the platform before becoming viral across social media in recent days.
Sea Lion Chase Incident
The viral video posted by Yeyn's TikTok account @favortown showed two sea lions chasing away the beachgoers.
Various US media reports stated that the incident occurred at the La Jolla Cove beach in San Diego, California.
@favortown These sea lions made my day yesterday #california ♬ Apple bitten jeans beach boys 1964 - done4dayz
In the TikTok video, Yeyn placed a caption saying that the sea lions made her day, which Fox 5 San Diego said she took the recording on the afternoon of Friday, July 8.
The TikTok user reportedly said she started recording when a woman went too close to a sleeping sea lion to take a picture.
All of a sudden, the animal woke up and charged at the woman and other people at the beach, with a smaller sea lion deciding to join the chase.
There were no reported injuries during the incident as the duo sea lions swam back to the waters, which was also shown at the end of the viral video.
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Sea Lion Disturbance
Yeyn told NBC7 that the said woman was only four feet away from the sleeping animal before the incident triggered off.
Aside from views, the TikTok video received 1.4 million likes, 13.9k comments, and 64.2k shares as of early morning on Wednesday, July 13.
A number of people in the comments are in support of the animals, with some claiming tourists get too close to the wild animals.
Experts also told NBC7 that while the public cheers for the sea lion chase, the behavior appeared to be the animals were conducting a mating ritual, which is common during the so-called pupping season.
The reports said it was a male sea lion who was chasing the beachgoers to establish some sign of dominance and territorial superiority.
California Sea Lions
Sea lions are known for being highly territorial and are still considered as wild animals, especially when they are disturbed.
In relation to the viral video's animal chasers, the Marine Mammal Center said that California sea lions are famously known for their intelligence, playfulness, and loud barking.
The coastal animals can grow until 600 to 850 pounds and 7 feet in length for the males, while female sea lions can grow between 200 to 250 pounds and up to 6 feet in length.
The center highlights the population hotspots for California sea lions range from Canada's Vancouver Island and British Columbia province and extend southward to Mexico's Baja California province.
In the United States, the sea lions can be seen in many coastal areas of California, especially in the PIER 39 in San Francisco.
The organization estimates that there are approximately 257,000 California sea lions living worldwide, in addition to the same sea lion species that went extinct in the Galapagos Islands and the Sea of Japan back around World War II.
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