blubbery

San Francisco’s Sea Lions: Recently sea lion counters tallied 2,000 of the whiskered, blubbery creatures in the water alongside Pier 39 on the city’s northern edge.

This week, sea lion counters — yes, they exist — tallied 2,000 of the whiskered, blubbery creatures in the water alongside Pier 39 on the city’s northern edge.

The blubbery horde on Pier 39, she said, probably will clear out by early June, when “the call of the breeding season will call them away.”

Climate change is stretching the length of time parts of the Far North go without sea ice, which polar bears rely on to hunt their preferred prey: blubbery, calorie-rich seals.

To maintain their blubbery bulk, Northern elephant seals must spend around seven months at sea each year, gorging on fish and squid.