Pier pressure: more than 1,000 sea lions assemble at San Francisco dockside

Sea lions at Pier 39 as officials say a record number of sea lions seeing the largest gathering in 15 year. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

More than 1,000 sea lions have gathered at San Francisco’s Pier 39 this spring, the largest herd in at least 15 years.

Mounds of floppy, delightfully ungraceful marine mammals have plopped themselves on to rafts along the city’s pier, displaying themselves to the thousands of tourists who pass by the area each day.