June 20, 2022

Temperature: 55 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 0.1 feet.

A Stellar sea lion pup was on the rocks near Submarine Rock. Although signs were posted in several places at Indian Beach to not disturb the pup, people and unleashed dogs continually approached the pup.

A  Stellar sea lion pup has been at Indian Beach for several days. Seaside Aquarium was called on Saturday and placed signs warning visitors to not disturb the mammal. When I arrived at Submarine Rock to do a Black Oystercatcher survey, a woman sitting next to the "Do Not Disturb" sign told me that several people had tried to put the pup in the water, and that it had an injured flipper. I called the Aquarium to let them know, and they said they had done all they could by putting up signs. They were not able to manage human disturbance. Throughout the next several hours, there was a steady stream of people and off-leash dogs approaching the pup, approximately every five minutes. The pup had apparently been on the sand, and when I arrived, it had either moved or been carried to the rocks by the ocean. When I pointed out the "Do Not Disturb" sign to visitors, many said "Oh, yes, I saw that", but ignored the instruction. I was not able to get a good picture of the pup and could not confirm that it was injured, poor quality photo attached. He verbalized minimally in the time that I was there. Given the level of human and dog disturbance, does this need to be reported as a Stranded Marine Mammal?