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A staff member of a conservation organization watches as a kiwi bird is released at Terawhiti Station, Mākara, near Wellington, New Zealand, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (Sara Tansy/Capital Kiwi Project via AP)

AP

A massive sea lion nicknamed Chonkers is charming tourists and locals at San Francisco's Pier 39. On Thursday morning, visitors snapped photos of the Steller sea lion as he flopped on the pier among much smaller California sea lions. Chonkers is estimated to weigh between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds. He likely came from waters off Washington or Oregon. Laura Gill from The Marine Mammal Center says the pier offers protection from predators and plenty of food. Sea lions have gathered at the pier since after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, becoming a tourist attraction.

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Chonkers, a giant Steller sea lion, sits on a dock at San Francisco's Fishermen's Wharf, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

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Chonkers, a giant Steller sea lion, lies at center with other sea lions on a dock at Fisherman's Wharf, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he meets with NASA's Artemis II astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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President Donald Trump meets with NASA's Artemis II astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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The humpback whale recovered from a shallow bay off Wismar is being transported towards the North Sea by two tugboats in a flooded cargo ship off the Danish coast, in Fehmarn, Germany, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (Philip Dulian/dpa via AP)