No More Sea Lions

Those of you who have visited us from afar will no doubt remember the slippery, barking pile of sea lions at Pier 39 in downtown San Francisco. They arrived in big numbers in 1990, and I remember at the time how sea lion huggers and the tourist bureau managed to outmuscle the local boaters who found their prime slip locations overrun and inaccessible. No more, it seems. As mysteriously as they arrived, the sea lions have decided it's time to move on.

Since Oct. 23, when volunteers with Sausalito's Marine Mammal Center counted just over 1,700 of the pinnipeds sprawled out on the docks at Fisherman's Wharf, the number of sea lions has plummeted.

Tuesday afternoon, as holiday visitors and tourists swarmed the pier for magic shows, ferry rides and funnel cakes, the only empty spot was the network of docks reserved for the federally protected sea lions.

Some local prognosticators figure the sea lions are just out searching for food and will be back. I would start renting out the slips again myself.