Hundreds of sea lions invade popular Monterey beach, forcing it to close to humans

MONTEREY, Calif. (KGO) -- Hundreds of sea lions have taken over a Monterey beach, forcing officials to close the beach to humans indefinitely.

The sea lions started moving in at San Carlos Beach last week -- right as the world famous Monterey Car Week was happening.

Loud noises from the car show scared the sea lions back into the water -- but only briefly.

This past Sunday night, dozens of sea lions were covering the sand.

"We've had a few people say they've never seen them come over here in this many numbers. This is definitely an odd thing to happen here," said Megan Patton with Monterey Bay Scuba.

MORE: Record number of sea lions swarm SF's Pier 39; largest gathering in about 15 years, officials say

Pier 39 is getting a lot of attention right now. It's seeing the largest number of sea lions gathered in about 15 years.

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary has been talking to people about the importance of giving the animals their space.

They've also been alerting divers since this is one of the most popular diving spots in Monterey.