Sea lion pups at La Jolla Cove are dying at a shocking rate. In 2024, seven of the nine pups born at the cove died within six weeks, according to the Los Angeles Times. At nearby Point La Jolla, where the public is kept off the beach, only four of 44 pups died.

The difference is people. La Jolla Cove ranks as the top thing to do in La Jolla on TripAdvisor, and the crowds keep growing. Videos shared online show visitors walking right up to sea lions and touching them, and some people have even thrown things at the animals. Between May and October, when mothers give birth and nurse their young, that contact can be deadly. A human touch can change how a pup smells, and its mother may leave it behind. Without her, the pup can starve.

Park rangers and volunteers from the San Diego Seal Society put up signs and ask visitors to keep back, but many people ignore them. City rangers cannot write tickets under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, a federal law, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) does not have enough officers to patrol the cove. Even if rangers gain that power, they cannot be on the beach every hour of every day.

Point La Jolla shows what happens when people are kept away: most pups live. Mayor Todd Gloria and the San Diego City Council should close the sea lion areas of La Jolla Cove to the public from May through October each year, and the California Coastal Commission should approve the closure. The pups need space to make it through their first weeks of life.

Sign the petition to close La Jolla Cove during pupping season — before another season of pups is lost.