APRIL FOOLS — Just a few weeks after an enormous Steller sea lion arrived at San Francisco’s Pier 39, a new visitor has now appeared in the same spot. Yesterday evening, a gently glowing, bioluminescent sea lion was spotted among the hundreds of sea lions that love to bask on the famous wooden docks.
Spokesperson for the Marine Mammal Center Beso Forreal told us that this sea lion likely rolled in a mass of bioluminescent algae, or dinoflagellates, which emit a soft greenish-blue light.
A local fisherman named “Old Tom” spotted the sea lion last night as the sun began to set. After about an hour relaxing among its peers, the sea lion gazed up at Old Tom with an expression of ancient wisdom and dove back into the bay waters.
The Marine Mammal Center launched a research vessel in the San Francisco Bay to try and find the animal, declaring in a press release, “We will pursue the inscrutable creature to the ends of the Earth.”
As of this morning, the prodigal beast has surfaced only briefly to remind observers who is truly in control.
*Closes Moby Dick* alrighty, time to get back to work… APRIL FOOLS Y’ALL!
More about Pier 39 and the Marine Mammal Center
Thanks for sticking around for an epilogue! The Marine Mammal Center, Pier 39, bioluminescence, and the Steller sea lion sighting are all very much real things… so let’s take a closer look at them.
Pier 39 and the Steller sea lion
The Pier 39 sea lion colony is one of San Francisco’s most iconic attractions. According to the Pier 39 website, sea lions first started “hauling out” here right after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, fully (and defiantly) taking over K-Dock by January 1990. The Marina has turned out to be an ideal home for the sea lions, with plenty of food nearby in the bay and safety from predators like white sharks and orcas.
An enormous Steller sea lion was spotted at Pier 39 in mid-March, dwarfing its smaller California sea lion companions. These giant sea lions usually stay in colder, northern waters, and rarely make an appearance in San Francisco.
The Marine Mammal Center
The Marine Mammal Center is a local nonprofit organization that rescues and rehabilitates marine mammals. They operate the world’s largest marine mammal hospital in Sausalito, caring for injured and ill animals, including elephant seals, harbor seals, California sea lions, sea otters, monk seals, fur seals, and more. You can visit their facilities for free, take a tour to learn more about their work, and donate to support their services.
Bioluminescence in California
Finally, you can actually see bioluminescence in California ocean waters, although it doesn’t “stick” to mythical sea lions. The phenomenon is most common at Southern California beaches in the early spring and late summer, where microscopic algae called dinoflagellates concentrate at the surface of the water, emitting a neon-blue glow when agitated. The chemical reaction can create unbelievable glowing ocean waves.
There are a few places where you can see bioluminescence in and around the Bay Area, too. Look for specialized kayak tours where experts can guide you to the best spots, such as Blue Waters Kayaking in Tomales Bay (Marin County) and Kayak Connection in Elkhorn Slough (Moss Landing).
