Federal officials probe video of person kicking California sea lion

Along the California coast, where the boundary between human life and wild nature has always been porous, a video has surfaced showing what appears to be a person kicking a protected sea lion — and federal investigators have taken notice. The Marine Mammal Protection Act exists precisely for moments like this, a legal covenant between human society and the creatures it shares shorelines with. Whether this incident results in charges or not, it asks a question older than any statute: how do we behave when we believe no one is watching, and what does it mean that now, someone always is?