COWABUNGA, MAN

An 'aggressive sea otter' is scaring surfers and stealing their boards

Story by Chris Knight • National Post  -Yesterday 

Santa Cruz Police released this image of Otter 841 in the act of commandeering a surfboard.

Police in Santa Cruz are warning surfers of an unusual threat in the waters of the California community. An “aggressive sea otter” is approaching, biting and scratching surfboards – and in some cases climbing aboard and making off with them.

A widely shared video shows one hapless surfer trying to fight off the creature, which hangs onto the board and at one point seems to rush the man, forcing him to let go. When the map flips the board, it briefly dislodges the animal, but moments later it’s back and chewing on the side of the board.

Unlike recent reports of various orcas attacking boats in what appears to be learned group behaviour, the surfboard-munching marine mammal is a singular scofflaw. It even has a name. The New York Times reports that it’s Otter 841, a five-year-old female, one of about 3,000 endangered southern sea otters remaining along California’s central coast, after the sub-species was almost wiped out in the early 20th century.

Otter 841 is the offspring of an otter that was raised in captivity and, after being released in the wild, started approaching humans for handouts, which they willingly offered. As a result, she was taken in at a local wildlife veterinary care and research centre, where she gave birth to 841.

The Times says 841 was kept from forming close attachments to humans before being released. “After one year of being in the wild without issue, we started receiving reports of her interactions with surfers, kayakers and paddle boarders,” Jessica Fujii, sea otter program manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, said. “We do not know why this started. We have no evidence that she was fed. But it has persisted in the summers for the last couple of years.”

It’s also increased in frequency and boldness, with the otter observed stealing surfboards on three separate occasions over a recent weekend.

In the video, onlookers seem to be more amazed than horrified at what is happening. This was also the reaction of 16-year-old Noah Wormhoudt, who related his experience to the Times.

“I started paddling away trying to avoid it but it kept getting closer and closer. I jumped off my board and then it jumped onto my board,” he said. “It seemed friendly, so we got comfortable with it. It was a pretty cool experience.”

But he then realized that this was a wild animal, and that he “wasn’t really like thinking about how it could bite my finger off.” He also added admiringly: “The otter was shredding, caught a couple of nice waves.”

Others are less impressed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) has released a statement that, “While there have been no confirmed reports of injury, due to the highly unusual behavior of this otter, kayakers, surfers, and others recreating in the area should not approach the otter or encourage the otter’s interactions.”

The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family and can tip the scales at over 45 kg or 100 pounds. The carnivorous creature has left claw and bite marks on several surfboards.

Meanwhile, a team from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Monterey Bay Aquarium is looking to catch Otter 841. Aquarium spokesperson Kevin Connor told NPR that she won’t be able to return to the wild, however.

“Trying to recapture the otter is an effort to avoid anything more drastic. If the otter were to harm or bite a person, the USFW, which is responsible for managing the population of these animals, would have to begin discussions of euthanizing the animal,” he said. “That’s the reality, and nobody wants to see that.”