Sea lions appear to chase panicked beach-goers in San Diego

July 11 (UPI) -- A visitor to a southern California beach captured video of beach-goers fleeing in a panic two sea lions appear to aggressively charge after them -- but one expert said the animals may not have been concerned with the humans at all.

Charlianne Yeyna, who posted the now-viral video to TikTok, said the chase began when a woman attempted to take a photo of a sleeping sea lion at La Jolla Cove in San Diego.

"The sea lions were sleeping and were just massive on the beach and I was just watching them and this woman got really close to them, like 4 feet away, and was trying to take a photo of it up close, and it just woke up and started chasing everybody," Yeyna told NBC San Diego.

The sea lions eventually returned to the water and swam off without causing any serious injuries.

A spokesperson for Sea World San Diego reviewed the footage and said the animals may not have been intentionally chasing the humans. The representative said the first sea lion may have simply been fleeing from the second.

"You would really only notice if you watch a lot of sea lion behavior but the fact that one jumps in the water and the other does so quickly after shows they are following one another," the spokesperson said.