Chonkers the sea lion vanishes, leaving Pier 39 visitors searching

At Pier 39, the hunt has become part of the show. Visitors kept lining the docks and peering toward K-Dock for Chonkers, the giant Steller sea lion whose sudden disappearance left one of Fisherman’s Wharf’s most reliable attractions temporarily missing and the crowd still looking.

Chonkers first hauled out on the docks on March 13, 2026, and for about two months he drew a steady stream of onlookers back to the waterfront. By May 8, ABC7 San Francisco reported he had not been seen since the previous Friday, and the search itself had become a spectacle, with spectators standing several rows deep and returning day after day to see whether he would reappear.

Pier 39 has leaned into the attention. The pier says Chonkers usually shows up on K-Dock before 10 a.m., with the occasional surprise afternoon visit, and it has posted identification guidance so visitors can distinguish him from the smaller California sea lions that crowd the same waters. The pier’s own naming of the phenomenon, Bonkers for Chonkers, captured how quickly one animal became a waterfront obsession. The Marine Mammal Center has also sold Chonkers-branded merchandise, including a plush toy, with proceeds supporting marine mammal protection.

The attention makes sense in a place whose sea-lion story goes back to the October 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. PIER 39 says California sea lions began hauling out on K-Dock after the quake and had taken over the dock by January 1990, with the Marine Mammal Center advising that the animals should stay in their new home. More than three decades later, the sea lions remain central to Pier 39’s identity, complete with a live camera and dedicated sea-lion pages that help keep the animals in the public eye.

Chonkers also stands out because he is not a typical Pier 39 sea lion. NOAA Fisheries says Steller sea lions are the largest member of the eared-seal family, with males reaching about 11 feet and weighing as much as 2,500 pounds. Laura Gill of the Marine Mammal Center estimated Chonkers at roughly 1,500 to 2,000 pounds and said he likely came from waters off Washington or Oregon. Gill also pointed to the abundant prey in San Francisco Bay, including anchovies, rockfish and herring, as one reason a Steller sea lion might linger.

University of California, Santa Cruz ecology professor Daniel Costa said Chonkers may have moved on to establish territory ahead of breeding season, possibly at the Farallon Islands or Año Nuevo, and that his absence may not be permanent. NOAA says the western Steller sea lion population was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1990 and remains endangered, a reminder that even Pier 39’s most photogenic resident is part of a much larger conservation story.

For Fisherman’s Wharf, the episode underlines a familiar truth: the neighborhood still runs on singular, hard-to-predict spectacle. When Chonkers is on the dock, he draws the crowd; when he vanishes, the search itself keeps people looking out over the water.