Barking, roaring, gargling, grunting, squealing, squabbling, flopping, wriggling, snoozing and occasionally vomiting on each other, the sea lions of the Santa Cruz Wharf provide a noisy, fish-scented spectacle that in the wake of the structure's partial collapse in December is now harder but only slightly to take in.
A cataclysmic ocean swell shortened the popular tourist attraction by the length of half a football field, it ripped away a substantial portion of prime lounging-around habitat for the sleek-but-portly sea lions that have for decades used the network of horizontal support beams between the ocean and the wharf deck as a haul-out spot.
Despite the collapse, some two dozen seafood-gobbling marine mammals lay cheek-by-jowl on the skeletal remains of a defunct boat landing on the east side of the wharf, near Stagnaro Bros. seafood restaurant.
Andrews, who visited the wharf last week, expressed her surprise at the sight of the sea lions and reflected on their fate after the wharf's partial collapse, stating 'They’re really cute.'
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