la Jolla Shores Beach
Sheltered cove beach beside a research pier, where thousands of pregnant leopard sharks gather each summer.
This guide to La Jolla Shores Beach in San Diego opens underwater, with marine biologist Andrew Nosal losing count of leopard shark fins gliding past his mask. It follows why he kept returning to this one stretch of sand off Scripps Institution of Oceanography every summer, tagging thousands of sharks that gather here from July into September while lifeguards field startled swimmers nearby. You'll hear what Nosal's years of tracking data revealed about who these sharks are and why they keep choosing this exact cove over the open coastline on either side. Wade in past the sandbar and you're standing over one of the largest known nurseries on this coast.
Audio guides are written and narrated by AI.