The other side of those cute seals at the La Jolla Children's Pool

There's a political battle over the Children's Pool at La Jolla. A sheltering seawall was was built in the early days of San Diego to give children a place to play at the beach without big waves. A trust was established which made the beach public in perpetuity for the children.

Well, seals like the shelter too. Dozens of seals have taken up residence in the cove, and people are now discouraged by signs and activists from using the beach. A judge recently ruled that the seals should be shooed off with barking dog recordings, but the state and city legislators look close to declaring a seal sanctuary.

I've supported the seals. I tend to think if the seals have picked one little spot to hang out, let's let them have it.

Here's the other side of the story: the overpopulation of seals is destroying the local sea life in the kelp forests. And seals are not just predators but also prey. They are attracting great white sharks. Last year a dude got chomped at nearby Fletcher Cove, the first apparent great white attack in these waters I've ever heard of. And last week a juvenile great white was caught off of La Jolla.

And it turns out that the seals did not appear there naturally, but were dumped there by Sea World's rehab and release program. Sometimes we throw ecosystems out of balance in the name of "protecting nature." Seals are nice to look at, but maybe a highly concentrated population right here is not the best idea.

Our friends at Temple of MUT have more, by way of an introduction to the August 28 Sacramento March on Eco-Tyranny.