Urban Sea Lions — Joseph Ciembroniewicz

Urban Sea Lions

In coastal Chilean communities South American Sea Lions are often a common site at fish markets. The massive creatures have been a protected species for 28 years and are pests to those in the fishing business. The sea lions are drawn to the markets by the fish being processed there, and will beg like dogs, existing in the spaces as if they were a natural habitat.

A South American Sea Lion approaches Feria Fluvial, a fish market in Valdivia, Chile, on July 2, 2024.

Carrion birds sun themselves and peck at scraps on the awning above Feria Fluvial, a fish market in Valdivia, Chile, on July 2, 2024.

Elias Flores looks towards the table where he processes fish at the Feria Fluvial fish market, in Valdivia Chile, on July 2, 2024, as a male South American sea lion observes. The sea lion, according to Flores, is named “Bigoti.”

A shopping cart full of discarded fish parts, seen in Playa Caleta Portales fish market, on June 29, 2024, in Valparaiso, Chile.

Elias Flores cuts fish at Feria Fluvial, a fish market, in Valdivia, Chile, as a South American sea lion known as “Bigoti,” begs for scraps, on July 2, 2024. Flores says that the sea lion robs him, so he “doesn’t trust him very much.”

A South American sea lion catches scraps of fish thrown by a man processing fish, at Feria Fluvial, a fish market in Valdivia, Chile,
on July 2, 2024.

South American sea lions sun themselves on June 30, 2024, beside a pier near Playa Caleta Portales, a fish market, in Valparaiso, Chile.

A South American sea lion lounges at the edge of a parking lot, at Playa Caleta Portales fish market, on June 29, 2024, in Valparaiso, Chile.