SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Another stellar sea lion has been spotted on the docks at Pier 39, drawing attention just months after a well-known visitor nicknamed Chonkers became a local attraction.
Video from the Pier 39 camera on Wednesday showed the large marine mammal resting among the pier’s resident sea lions. Experts with the California Academy of Sciences Marine Mammal Stranding program said a stellar sea lion can weigh around 2,000 pounds. By comparison, the largest California sea lions commonly seen at Pier 39 weigh about 700 pounds.
A large Steller sea lion has appeared on the iconic Pier 39 docks Wednesday morning.
Chonkers, a stellar sea lion that drew widespread attention at the pier in April, remained there for several weeks. However, both the Pier 39 harbormaster and the California Academy of Sciences said the newly arrived animal is not Chonkers, based on scarring visible on its body.
Pier 39 Harbormaster Sheila Chandler said the waterfront attraction has seen an unusual increase in stellar sea lion visits.
“I’ve been here on the pier working here for 41 years. This is the first time we’ve had this number visitations from Stellar Sea Lines on Pier 99. So I don’t know what the significance of that is particularly except well, one thing is we have a lot of sardines in the marina right now, swimming around. So there’s some a good food source here. But this is unusual for us.”
MORE: ‘Chonkers,’ the giant sea lion stealing hearts at San Francisco’s Pier 39
According to experts at the California Academy of Sciences, the newly arrived stellar sea lion is smaller than Chonkers. Chandler said another stellar sea lion visited earlier in September, but stayed only about a day.
How long the latest visitor will remain at the pier is unclear.
“They’ll come and go as they please. There really is no way to predict when they’ll be here. They they just kind of follow the food. So if you think there’s a lot of bait fish in the area, there’s a good chance a stellar might show up,” said Sue Pemberton, associate manager of marine mammal stranding at the California Academy of Sciences.
If the sea lion decides to stay, Pier 39 officials say their next challenge may be finding a nickname that can top Chonkers.
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