Examples of responsible wildlife viewing
3 examples of the use of physical barriers to protect wildlife from harassment in California and Maui.
1. La Jolla Cove
This cove used to be a popular place to take close-up pictures of seals and sea lions, just like Laniakea Beach with turtles.
Photos by Terry Lilley
Then the city made a fence for visitors to stand behind. See how much more relaxed the seals are today?
2. Piedras Blancas
In the North of San Luis Obispo, people used to go down to this rocky beach to be close to the elephant seals until 1997.
Read the history of Piedras Blancas with pictures taken before 1997 here.
Tourists now view the marine animals in their natural habitat from a distance. Volunteers offer them information about the animals.
Photos by Terry Lilley
3. Maui
A rock wall and signs were installed by residents to keep tourists from approaching turtles.
Although unofficial, this simple solution keeps most tourists from harassing the turtles. Visitors can also view the turtles from the cliff and from the pavilion wall.
On this day, there were 40 turtles on the beach.
