THE SEA LION MYSTERY AT PIER 39 OF SAN FRANCISCO FISHERMAN'S WHARF SOLVED

The Life Links We Do Not Know

Loma Prieta earthquake, a very severe earthquake, struck Bay Area of San Francisco in October 1989. Shortly after that a colony of sea lions came to live at pier 39 of San Francisco’s Fisherman’s wharf and have not left it since. Various theories have been advanced to explain their arrival and stay. But according to me, none of these theories are correct.

In 1977 I left my village to go to a nearby town to continue my studies after standard 5 in the Intermediate College where my father was principal. In Uttar Pradesh state of India, schools which offer classes upto standard 12 are called Intermediate Colleges (intermediate between standard 10 and University). We used to live in the campus of the College itself as my father had been given living quarters within the campus. The campus was at the edge of town. At nights, only three of us used to be there, my father, me and a night watchman. It was a sprawling campus, with open spaces and trees. Few cats, two or three, lived there. They were not pets, and they were not the “domestic” cats which roam homes in Indian villages and cities. They were “wild” without being in a proper forest, with the campus giving them space and prey like in a forest. We saw them occasionally, roaming in search of prey. But they always maintained distance from us, never venturing near the living quarters.

In the same year or within the next couple of years, I don’t exactly remember, in a summer evening around 9 pm we were sitting out in the open as inside was hot because of the summer. Then a mild earthquake struck the area. We could feel it immediately, but it was not severe. As the earthquake waves subsided, we noticed that all the cats had come close to us, and were purring ‘meow’. We surmised that the earthquake had frightened them also and they had come to us, Homo Sapiens, for reassurance, for safety.

So, when I first went to Pier 39 of San Francisco in 2019 and saw the howling sea lions, I read about them in more details. When I read that they had come there just after the earthquake in 1989, my mind went back to those cats that had come to us after the earthquake in late 1970s. And a connection was made. The sea lions were frightened by the earthquake and they came close to Homo Sapiens to feel safe. They found it safe and comfortable there, and therefore have made it a permanent residence.

It seems that other species somehow think of us, Homo Sapiens, some kind of omni potent creatures. Who can save them in natural calamities. It is not learned knowledge, as it doesn’t happen in most calamities and generations in other species change very fast for the knowledge to become trans-generational. It is certainly subconscious and is transmitted genetically.

What does it say about the Consciousness? Is Consciousness across species somehow linked? Why do other species think of us more potent than themselves though physically we are not, and our mental capacities are not likely to make sense to them? It seems that in the deeper layers of Consciousness the species have more in common than so far we know. Unknown to us, there may be some communication among species. Or may be at the most basic levels of Consciousness, all life is One.