The annual closure of the beach allows the harbor seals to give birth in peace.
In a few weeks, there will be several small, blubbery, new residents in La Jolla, as seal pupping season begins. To protect the pregnant seals as they prepare to give birth, The Children’s Pool Beach will be closed from Sunday, Dec 15 through May 15.
The annual closure allows the seals, which haul out on the sand there to rest all year long, extra space and time to put on weight and prepare to deliver.
A chain will block visitors from accessing the stairs to the beach during the seasonal closure.
This is different from the year-round closure of Point La Jolla further north to protect sea lions from human interaction; their pupping season is May through October.
Once the seal pups are born, they are nursed for about six weeks, becoming self-sufficient in that time. Their mothers will wean the pups and release them into independence.
The rest of the year, a rope barrier stays up on much of the beach to remind people to stay back from the seals as they view them; access to the water is allowed via a corridor on the right side of the beach.
© lajolla.ca
