Are San Franciscos Pier 39 sea lions vacationing in Oregon?
Where have San Francisco’s Pier 39 sea lions gone? Oregon, it seems, to a marine mammal haunt and human tourist destination called Sea Lion Caves. Sea lions now abound at the preserve in a phenomenon Scott Ellson, operations manager for the preserve, described as “unbelievable” in a story published Wednesday by David Knowles of Sphere. The famous Pier 39 sea lions, for years one of San Francisco Bay’s top attractions, went missing in late November. Biologists theorized their food supply had become displaced and they had no choice but to leave. About the same time, the flood of sea lions began at Sea Lion Caves off central Oregon. The number of pinnipeds was estimated at about 4,000. Clearly, bait fish are more abundant there. Said Ellson: “Cormorants, which are usually gone by now, are still here in great numbers. And pelicans, too.
