There is a cheeky sea otter that seals surfboards from unsuspecting surfers. The otter has been tagged, but some wave riders aren’t sure if it’s the same one.
A sea otter just bit a surfer’s foot and hijacked her board for 20 minutes at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz, bringing back memories of the infamous Otter 841 from 2023. But here’s the twist: wildlife officials can’t confirm if it’s the same otter because her tracking tag is gone. Now there are warning signs at the beach, multiple daily encounters, and surfers trying to figure out how to share the lineup with California’s furriest wave riders.
Otter 841 terrorized Santa Cruz before; is it back
The sea otter who stole surfboards in 2023 might be back. That aggressive sea otter along the California coast proved that it wasn’t afraid of people. Recently, another surfboard theft by a sea otter brought back memories of the rogue otter from before. It’s not entirely unusual to have wildlife encounters while surfing, but an otter that bites surfers and steals their surfboards is a completely different type of encounter than you might expect.
A sea otter steals a surfboard and is ready to ride
Isabella Orduna had an otter encounter while surfing in Santa Cruz along Steamer Lane, where the otter bit her foot. She reported the bite as a small nip on her foot, and she rolled into the water. Once she surfaced, she saw a large otter sitting on her board, and she wasn’t sure what to do at this point. This was only the first of two incidents that occurred recently with otters taking over the board of surfers out in the water. This is similar to what happened in 2023 when otter 841 climbed aboard several surfboards to avoid being captured.
Is it the same otter or a new culprit?
If it’s sea otter 841 that steals a surfboard, authorities can chalk this up to the repeat offender and a single otter that seems to have gone rogue, or at least gotten the desire to go surfing. On the other hand, if this is a different otter that has either learned from 841 or chosen to mimic the other otter’s behavior, surfers and authorities might have a problem in Santa Cruz. The problem that experts are facing is the loss of 841’s tag, which means they might not be able to figure out whether it’s the same creature or not.
What should suffers do?
In order to avoid the sea otter that steals surfboards, it’s important that surfers are aware of the otters in the area and keep their distance. This can mean surfing in areas where the otters don’t roam, in order to be safe and keep the animals safe as well. Sea otters, although cute, are dangerous and just as territorial as any other animal. This means the otters could attack a person when they see them in their area.
The surfer and board were saved
Although the sea otter took a board from Ms. Orduna, she said the bite didn’t puncture her skin. She tried to shoo the otter away, but that didn’t work; this creature wanted to enjoy some waves too. People on shore called 911, and Ben Coffey, a marine safety officer for the Santa Cruz Fire Department, responded to the call. He helped Ms. Orduna to shore and went back and got her board, which resulted in a brief struggle with the animal. The board was retrieved undamaged.
Residents seem to like it when a sea otter steals a surfboard
Residents in the area celebrated otter 841 when it stole boards in 2023. They printed her furry face on t-shirts and even named an ice cream flavor after her. When wildlife experts tried to capture her, residents in the area booed them from shore, which seems a bit crazy, but that’s how things go sometimes. Eventually, authorities discovered that 841 was pregnant, causing them to stop the hunt for her. Once she gave birth, she stopped trying to steal surfboards, which might mean she was only doing this because of her pregnancy.
The wrong numbers for this situation
The number of sea otters and surfers in Santa Cruz has been rising steadily, which means more sea otters that steal surfboards could become problematic. At the very least, this creates a situation that could become more dangerous for surfers and otters in the area, even if the animals don’t play by taking boards from them. Authorities and experts will likely need to step in and keep surfers out of the area when otters are active.
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