Sea Lions Mysteriously Disappear From Pier 39

[Chevy57]

Where Did San Francisco's Sea Lions Go? SAN FRANCISCO (CBS) ―

Following a record sized herd, hundreds of sea lions have suddenly disappeared from San Francisco's Pier 39 and have been gone for a month.

Following a record sized herd, hundreds of sea lions have suddenly disappeared from San Francisco's Pier 39 and have been gone for a month.

"It really was practically overnight," said Sheila Chandor who said she has never seen anything like it in her 24 years as Harbor Master of Pier 39.

Chandor said the sea lions will occasionally leave en masse to follow feeding and mating patterns, but they always leave a large contingent behind.

"This is completely upside down," said Chandor. "Usually, in the summer, the majority of the herd will go out for the mating season and leave at the most about 40 of the smaller ones behind. And in the winter - this time of year - we get the biggest sized herd. So this is incredibly unusual."

More than 1,500 sea lions inhabited Pier 39 around the third week of November, setting a new record, Chandor said. But they took off around Thanksgiving without a clue as to where they were going.

Shelbi Stoudt with the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, an organization that routinely rescues sea lions, said the sea lions may have migrated off the coast to follow a food source. But Stoudt stressed there is no scientific evidence indicating where the sea lions may have gone.

"They'll be back," said Chandor. "They love it here. What's not to love about being here? They get seafood, personalized service. We hose it down for them. This is like the best hotel for these guys."

Sea Lions Mysteriously Disappear From Pier 39

I think that they may sense earthquakes?

 

[rockdrummer]

Those darn sea lions. I told them to not just wander off without telling anyone where they are going. Bad sea lions

 

[rockdrummer]

.........................
I think that they may sense earthquakes?

Or maybe they are at the bottom of the bay.

Cyclical changes in seroprevalence of leptospirosis in California sea lions: endemic and epidemic disease in one host species?

 

[rockdrummer]

Ok... I found the sea lions. They are hooking up with chicks.

 

[rockdrummer]

I wonder what is their secret. How do those sea lions put the moves on the chicks. I am jealous.

 

[Frisky Feline]

I think that they may sense earthquakes?

I saw the beautiful sea lions all over on the pier when I was in SF 10 yrs ago.

It scares me to think why sea lions disappearing, is it about the earthquakes or flood?

San Francisco's Famous Sea Lions Disappear Popular Fidelity Unusual Stuff

 

[jinxedkitten]

I was actually extremely disappointed when I heard about the missing mammals, they were my favourite highlight of Pier 39 (other than the doughnuts that melt in your mouth o_O)

Here's a picture that I snapped a few months ago:

I hope they come back soon!!

 

[Frisky Feline]

I was actually extremely disappointed when I heard about the missing mammals, they were my favourite highlight of Pier 39 (other than the doughnuts that melt in your mouth o_O)

Here's a picture that I snapped a few months ago:

I hope they come back soon!!

Me too. I hope they come back, just like before. how long have they been there? 20 years?

I enjoyed visiting SF and never knew about the sealions. My bro in law said, "let me show you over there.." I walked over and saw the sea lions sleeping there. They looks adorable!

 

[rockdrummer]

OK .. I found more of the sea lions.

This sea lion is hiding from the cops.

This one is pursuing his art career

This one became a singer

Oh and here is another one puttin the moves on a babe.

This one was caught being a "streetwalker" and had to be arrested

This one was found administering first aid to this person.

These sea lions adoped this nice couple.

 

[Frisky Feline]

lol with the sea lions adopted the nice couple.

 

[Jiro]

yea I was there when I was little. lotsa of sea lions. so they're gone, huh? probably south to stay warm. Heard that even Florida's getting frisky!

 

[Frisky Feline]

yea I was there when I was little. lotsa of sea lions. so they're gone, huh? probably south to stay warm. Heard that even Florida's getting frisky!

after years, and they simply left SF for florida? oh no.

 

[Jiro]

after years, and they simply left SF for florida? oh no.

I was thinking Mexico

 

[Frisky Feline]

hope it isn't relating with the 2012. :Ohno:

 

[Steel X]

Pretty strange...something sure isn't right. I hope the rest of them are alright somewhere.

 

[Jiro]

Pretty strange...something sure isn't right. I hope the rest of them are alright somewhere.

kinda funny that you say that it's strange. Here's what the executive director of the Marine Mammal Center said - "The animals began leaving in droves the day after Thanksgiving, almost as if someone had issued an order. But Boehm said the fact that so many sea lions stayed for so long is even stranger than their disappearance."

 

[Jiro]

Marine mammal mystery: Sea lions disappear from San Francisco's Pier 39

*it's the picture of sea lions congregating on Pier 39 at San Fransisco and the visitors are overlooking them from the pier

SAN FRANCISCO — Last month, marine scientists counted more than 1,500 sea lions on fabled Pier 39, a record number that delighted tourists and baffled experts. Why so many? Why were they sticking around? But now, almost all of the sea lions are gone, leaving the experts guessing where they went -- and why.

"Most likely, they left chasing a food source," said Jeff Boehm, executive director of the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, which runs an information center and gift shop at Pier 39. "It's probably what kept them here in the first place."

On Tuesday, 10 sea lions lounged and swam and dived from the docks, spreading themselves out where the animals were stacked three and four deep just a month ago. The bulk of the herd probably followed their favorite foods, sardines and anchovies, Boehm said.

The animals began leaving in droves the day after Thanksgiving, almost as if someone had issued an order. But Boehm said the fact that so many sea lions stayed for so long is even stranger than their disappearance.

"They do move off," Boehm said, adding that in the fall, older sea lions head to breeding colonies in the Channel Islands, off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel. Younger sea lions, he said, "don't mind those rules and tend to travel far and wide."

The younger ones still sticking around Pier 39 were enough to satisfy hordes of visitors huddled against the wind to watch them. The sea lions huddled together, dived off the docks, and honked and barked,

"We're happy with what we see," said Carmen Fernandez of Miami Beach, Fla., who was watching the sea lions with her husband, Carlos.

Despite the sea lions' abrupt disappearance, Boehm said the Marine Mammal Center is not concerned that they have left for good. While more then the usual number have left -- usually about 40 remain -- it is very unlikely, Boehm said, that they won't come back. He said the herd will probably come back, as usual, by the spring.

 

[Frisky Feline]

i was there in 1998. I wonder how long have sea lions been hanging out at pier 39? 20 years??

 

[Chevy57]

My image is here.
I had been there in 2005. I don't know what s happened to disappearing seals on Pier 39.

 

[rockdrummer]

I bet those sea lions are just chillaxin somewhere else. Ya see the thing about being a sea lion is that you don't have to answer to anyone.