Sea Lion Horde at Pier 39 Steadily Growing

​Last year, the sea lions were poised to take over the city. Instead, they took a vacation in Oregon. Now, the smelly, adorable creatures are steadily trickling back to San Francisco. This morning, this maintenance guy over at Pier 39 counted 158 of them.

A woman who works in the Pier 39 offices said she has noticed that the number usually increases in the afternoons, but asked not to be quoted because she isn't a scientist.

Lately, even the real scientists have been at a loss to explain what the deal is with these blubbery beasts. Maybe the Pier 39 officerworker's guess is as good as anyone's.

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