Seals in La jolla

How does fecal matter from the seals on Seal Cove adversely affect the human activity, specifically children, in La Jolla?

Rest your arms onto the corroded railing on top of the wall jutting out into the open sea. Don’t be frightened, the sea lions below will not bite your limbs off. The old decomposed brick wall is roughly 10 feet high. What concerns most of us is why can’t any human being swim freely in the shallow end of the water alongside the seals? Because the seals have bacteria and it can spread in the water. The sea lions excrete the bacteria in their urine. The water has a heavy concentration of bacteria in it so people are more likely to develop infections such as ear and outer infections. If the water is swallowed there is a potential risk of colitis. There are public signs pinned to the rail on top of the wall as an indication not to swim in the cove with the seals. This issue has stirred up attention with the locals. What use to be called the “Children’s pool” is now referred to as “seal cove”.


After the arrival of the seals, biologist have conducted important test concerning the bacteria concentration inside the water. It’s a known fact that the sea lions frequently carry bacteria they excrete from their urine. The urination process either takes place on the shore or in the open water. This is called leptospirosis and sometimes causes disease in sea lions and other times they are carriers of this bacteria without it causing disease. If large numbers of sea lions urinate in the same water, the water can be contaminated and pass through a person’s mucus membranes (mouth, nose), eyes, or cuts in his or her skin. This infection is not only seen from sea lions, but many rodents, cats, dogs and other animals can spread it. The main reason why the children’s pool cannot be accessed is because of the potential diseases that the children can get from swimming into the water. The seals are not an issue, they she’ll live on the seal cover for as long as they want.


In 1998 there was a triathlon and 834 people swam in contaminated water, 98 (12%) developed leptospirosis infection. Leptospirosis can cause mild to severe illness. The symptoms can affect almost every organ and can cause kidney failure, hemorrhage, acute respiratory distress and even an infection of the heart muscle called myocarditis. There is an article from the Monterey Herald about leptospirosis in sea lions and below that an article from a website called UptoDate which is a website for doctors and talks about leptospirosis.

Its quite comforting standing on the ledge and absorbing the cool breeze, but do you ever think about what your learn in bio class. Harmful microscopic organisms in the water originating from seal poop. The question is should we not interfere with the seals and there daily activities. Locals believe that the water is a bad clarity to it because of the seal poop and bacteria swarming around.