West
Sea lion numbers surge at popular California pier, reaching 15-year high
- San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf district is experiencing a surge in sea lions, with more than 1,000 counted this week.
- The sea lions have remained a tourist attraction since appearing at Pier 39 after a 1989 earthquake.
- Harbormaster Sheila Chandor attributes the sea lion influx to the abundant food, suggesting they are preparing for mating season.
They’re lounging, biting each other and generally making a ruckus in numbers not seen in more than a decade. And don’t even think about stealing their anchovies.
San Francisco’s famed Fisherman’s Wharf district is seeing a surge in sea lions.
First appearing at Pier 39 after the 1989 earthquake, the sea lions have become a well known tourist attraction. The number of sea lions — marine mammals that make loud barking calls and can weight up to a half-ton — crashing at the pier fluctuates over the seasons. On most days more than a hundred can be seen.
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But this week, Pier 39 harbormaster Sheila Chandor has counted more than 1,000 sea lions, and that’s the most seen there in 15 years. A huge school of anchovies — a favored food of the pinnipeds — brought them there, Chandor said.
Sea lions are seen on rafts along Pier 39, on May 2, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
“It’s all about the seafood. It’s all about the food,” Chandor said. “A very good way to put it is they are fueling up for the mating season. It’s spring. They are ready to rock and roll down in the Channel Islands, and we’re a nice pit stop with some great seafood.”
The spike in sea lions is indeed only expected to be temporary. But the barges the sea lions lounge on are designed to hold significant weight, and officials admit this current surge is testing their limits.
Biologists said the number of anchovies in the bay that seems to have attracted extra sea lions this spring is especially high. Chandor said the schooling fish were off the Farallon Islands.
Meanwhile, shops and businesses in the area were hoping the sea lion surge would also result in a tourist shopping spree, attracting more visitors to the area. Sea lion lovers have been flocking to the pier to catch a glimpse of the huge, noisy herd.
“I’ve never seen that many sea lions in one place. I heard about this place, and we came here a few minutes ago, and it’s awesome to see them,” said Theresa Simbeck, a visitor from Germany. “It’s very loud, of course, but it’s really nice to see all of them. And it’s funny to watch them fight and relax in the sun.”
Big numbers of sea lions have come to their pier in past years, and some 1,700 have previously arrived, Chandor said. It’s usually 300 to 400 in winter and up to 700 in spring, Chandor said.
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Miley Cyrus opens up about vocal condition behind her raspy voice
Miley Cyrus has revealed that she has Reinke’s edema, a condition affecting her vocal cords that gives her voice its raspy tone.
unbranded – Entertainment
Move over Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana is coming.
The “Flowers” singer is revisiting her Disney Channel roots, donning the signature blonde look of the fictional popstar ahead of the sitcom’s 20th anniversary in March.
At the Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival on Jan. 3, Cyrus confirmed she is involved with plans for the milestone date.
“Absolutely. We’re working hard on them,” she told Variety.
While she said she couldn’t say more about what’s in store for fans, Cyrus pointed to her blonde hairstyle, adding, “You see the bangs.”
Cyrus starred in the series alongside Emily Osment, Mitchel Musso and father Billy Ray Cyrus, between March 2006 and January 2011, and starred in the 2009 feature film “Hannah Montana: The Movie.” Under the Hannah Montana persona, she also released multiple platinum-selling soundtracks and headlined the Best of Both Worlds Tour, which grossed over $54 million.
What’s happening for the Hannah Montana 20th anniversary?
The Grammy-winning musician first teased plans for the anniversary in a July 22 interview on SiriusXM.
“I want to design something really, really special for it because it really was the beginning of all of this,” she said. “Without Hannah, there wouldn’t really be this me.”
“It’s crazy to think that I started as a character that I thought was going to be impossible to shed, and now that’s something that when I walk into a space, it’s looked at as this sense of kind of, like, nostalgia or something that you have from your childhood,” she added. “So, that’s exciting to get to celebrate that.”
Will there be a Hannah Montana tour in 2026?
Cyrus has not announced plans to tour as “Hannah Montana” for the show’s 20th anniversary.
While exact anniversary plans remain under wraps, a tour seems unlikely, as Cyrus has previously expressed a lack of interest in touring.
During a May 2023 interview with British Vogue, the “Something Beautiful” singer added that while she enjoys performing for her friends, noting that “singing for hundreds of thousands of people isn’t really the thing that I love.”
Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY
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