http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Sea-lions-back-at-San-Francisco-s-Fisherman-s-5675125.php?cmpid=twitter-premium&t=a109fe24ed3c100abe

Kurtis Alexander

August 7, 2014

(08-07) 14:05 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The sea lions at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf are back to their barking, blubbering selves after disappearing in June.

The 700-pound pinnipeds often leave the bay in the summer to breed, but this year's exodus appeared bigger than most. The docks at Pier 39, where 1,000 or more sea lions typically gather to the delight of tourists, were almost completely empty most of July.

Then, they slowly started returning.

"It is kind of crazy that for a couple months there will be none, and then there will be a thousand," said Alissa Fiset, a spokeswoman for Pier 39.

No one is completely sure where the seal lions go since marine scientists don't tag and monitor the animals. But the consensus seems to be that they swim south to the Channel Islands, off the Southern California coast, to find a mate.

The theory, though, doesn't explain why females and younger, non-breeding animals leave the wharf.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander