A particularly massive sea lion has Bay Area tourists and residents flocking to Pier 39 in San Francisco to spot the mammal affectionately named “Chonkers.”
“Chonkers” is a Steller sea lion, which is a heftier variety of the species, compared to his California sea lion counterparts.
The animal first showed up at Pier 39 about a month ago and has attracted interest on online forums such as Reddit, with users posting photos and videos of the sea lion sunning and scratching his belly with his flippers.
“Chonkers” is about 2,000 pounds and is much larger than California sea lions, which don’t usually exceed more than 850 pounds and 7 feet in length, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Male Steller sea lions weigh up to 2,500 pounds and reach 11 feet in length with a lifespan of 20 to 30 years, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. According to the Marine Mammal Center, female stellar sea lions can grow to 9 feet in length and 1,000 pounds.
“Chonkers the stellar sea lion is back at Pier 39 today!” one Reddit user posted in the subreddit r/SanFrancisco about a month ago. “…lounging at the back. come and get a glimpse of him before he swims away.”
“He’d have 20 Twitter accounts in better times,” another Reddit user commented in response to the post.
Thousands of sea lions gather at the pier depending on the time of year, KRON4 reported. Sea lions like to flock there because there is plenty of food and it’s protected from predators, harbor officials told the outlet.
Adult male stellar sea lions don’t have a visible sagittal crest (the bump on the top of their heads) that is observed in adult male California sea lions, according to the Marine Mammal Center.
Steller sea lions live in coastal waters in the northern Pacific, and around Japan and Central California, according to the center. Breeding occurs in regions spanning from Año Nuevo Island in Central California to the Kuril Islands north of Japan, with the greatest concentration of breeding grounds in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands.
Steller sea lions can be separated into Western and Eastern populations and are differentiated based on physical and genetic differences.
Stellar sea lion pups are born from mid-May to mid-July and usually weigh 35 to 50 pounds, according to the center. The mothers stay with their pups for up to two weeks before hunting at sea.
Mating occurs about two weeks after the pups are born. Males don’t eat during mating season but when they do, they feed on fish, invertebrates and other pinnipeds. Killer whales and whale sharks are their known predators.
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