San Francisco - Event

San Francisco's Pier 39 celebrates the anniversary of the arrival of a troupe of sea lions in the Bay. Visitors can get up close to hundreds of sea lions and talk with experts from the Marine Mammal Center.

In January 1990 the bay, already accustomed to all sorts of weird and wonderful visitors arriving on its shores, witnessed the sea lions' appearance. Sensing that San Francisco would be a great place to chill out, sunbathe and feast on the plentiful supply of herring that the bay has to offer, the playful pinnipeds have been in residence ever since.

The sudden debarkation occurred as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and each January their numbers soar as many return to feast on herring. Pier 39's K-Dock has since been declared a Watchable Wildlife viewing area and there are now up to 600 of the sea lions frolicking in the bay, although most tend to head out to the Channel Islands in the summer.