A lifeguard had to tell a little girl to leave a beach after she threw sand at a sleeping sea lion.

Footage shows the child dressed in purple chucking sand at the carnivorous animal in San Diego.

Clearly disturbed, the sea lion made a noise and lifted its head before lying back down.

The lifeguard then used her loudspeaker to announce to the whole beach: ‘Little girl in the purple you can leave now, thank you.’

She walks over to a woman who took her hand and looks up at the lifeguard before the video cuts off.

Someone posted the clip on TikTok last Monday and told viewers it was the third time the kid had thrown sand at the sea lion.

The child appeared to be with a guardian who looked up at the lifeguard (Picture: @raspberryblush)

Sea lions like to lie in on the beach to absorb heat from the sun (Picture: Getty)

They also said the child seemed unaffected by the lifeguard’s scolding and ‘just went on her way’.

Animal lovers were left furious at the adult, saying she should have stopped her.

One person said: ‘I was mad before I heard the lifeguard.’ Another spoke directly to the lifeguard and wrote: ‘Thank you for your service.’

There were many families trying to get a glimpse of the sea lion, but most kept their distance.

Chair of the Sierra Club Seal Society Robyn Davidoff told local media: ‘People don’t realise they should keep a distance from sea lions. They are wild animals.

‘They are a little bit used to us, but they still are wild, and this time of the year, when they’re thinking about mating, they get a little frisky – people have to get out of the way.’

Sea lions like to spend time on the beach to regulate their body temperatures by absorbing heat from the sun and keeping themselves warm.

They are typically not dangerous or aggressive but have injured humans in the past.

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Many people asked why the girl’s parents did not stop her.