Rough Cut (No reporter narration)br STORY: An abandoned pier on the shore Avancha Bay in Russia's Far East is a favorite wintering spot for sea lions, but local ecologists and marine biologists worry that tourists and a disintegrating pier will put the mammals in danger.br The Steller sea lion inhabits the North Pacific Ocean, preferring to base its rookeries on beaches, ledges and rocky reefs.br One herd of Steller sea lions makes its winter home on an abandoned pier in Petropavlovsk, where a Soviet fish processing plant once provided a food source for the mammals, which can weigh up to 2,500 lbs.br The Steller sea lion was listed under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species in 1990, but according to local ecologists the Avancha Bay rookery has been given no special protected status.br According to conservation officials, the interactions between the animals and their audience have lead to a 98 percent decrease in the sea lion population over 30 years. They say there are only four sea lion rookeries worldwide: one each on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Sakhalin Island and the United States cities of San Francisco and Seattle.