How to watch Chonkers, the 2,000-pound sea lion live from San Francisco

While an enormous sea lion named Chonkers makes a splash in San Francisco, you don’t have to live in the Golden City to sneak a peek. Viewers can watch the action from home with Pier 39’s livestream as this 2,000-pound Stellar sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) cozies up with the smaller California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) that “haul-out” along the docks on Pier 39.

To watch the Pier 39 livestream, scroll down to the bottom of the page until you see “VIEW THE SEA LIONS LIVE.” Then, press the “GO LIVE” button. You can also press “Control” to choose a position, snap a screenshot, pause the stream, or enter a full-screen mode.

How to spot Chonkers

Chonkers was first spotted at Pier 39 in early April. He has been flopping up onto the marina’s floats and hanging out with the California sea lions. While they can be seen in California waters, Stellar sea lions more commonly call Alaska and Washington State home, so Chonkers sticks out among his much smaller float-mates.

His size is the first thing that will make him stand out for viewers. Stellar sea lions are about 10 times bigger than California sea lions. Male Stellar sea lions like Chonkers push 2,500 pounds and are 11 feet long, while male California sea lions weigh about 250 pounds and are seven feet long. The females are also bigger. Female Stellar sea lions weigh in at roughly 1,000 pounds and measure nine feet long, compared to 220 pounds and six feet for California sea lions.

Chonkers also has a light tan to reddish color compared to the California sea lions’s darker brown fur. Stellar sea lions have a more low-frequency vocalization that sounds like a roar, while California sea lions’ sound more like barks.

California sea lions have a more pointed snout like a long-nosed dog, while Stellar sea lions like Chonkers typically have a more blunt face and a boxy, bear-like head.

What is Chonkers doing on the dock?

While watching, you’ll see both species “hauling out.” This means the seals and sea lions temporarily leave the water and lay on a rock, the beach, or a human-made structure like a dock. They may haul out after foraging for food or get some rest between migrations. 

According to The Marine Mammal Center, hauling out also helps them regulate their body temperature, avoid hungry predators, molt or shed their fur, interact with other animals, mate, give birth, and nurse their pups.

Chonkers and other Stellar sea lions do not migrate in the traditional sense. Instead, they will move from the center of their foraging activity, to follow seasonal concentrations of their many types of prey. These predatory animals consume over 100 species of fish, including salmon, Pacific cod, arrowtooth flounder, and rock sole. They also eat cephalopods, including squid and octopus.

Steller sea lions have over 300 haul-out sites along the North Pacific rim from Japan and Russia to Alaska and the Channel Islands off California. The longest recorded distances traveled are 1,600 miles from Forrester Island to Cape Newenham, 1,400 miles from Kozlof Cape, Russia, to Round Island in Alaska, and 1,200 miles from Medny Island, Russia, to Round Island. 

The history of Pier 39’s sea lions

California sea lions first began hauling out on Pier 39’s K-Dock in October 1989 after the 2.9-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake struck the Bay Area. By January 1990, the loud pinnipeds began to arrive in huge numbers. 

The staff at the marina turned to The Marine Mammal Center, a local animal rescue and rehabilitation organization, for advice on how to handle their new residents. The experts from The Marine Mammal Center recommended that the sea lions stay in their newfound home. 

The number of sea lions at Pier 39 fluctuates depending on the time of year. The current record is over 2,100 sea lions in May–June 2024. 

 

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