Did you think you would wake up today and read about a sea otter vigilante stealing surfboards right out from underneath surfers? Probably not, right?
This wild animal is taking matters into its own tiny hands, and though surfing is not illegal in California, the sport is clearly bothering this sea otter enough to where it wants to put a stop to it.
The aggressive sea otter has been stalking surfers and stealing their boards as they prepare to ride waves. As you’ll see in the video below, the California surfers can’t do much about it once the sea otter commandeers the board like a real life pirate.
All of this is taking place off the coast of Santa Cruz, and the best part about it is that wildlife officials are struggling to stop the heinous acts of the otter. The surfer in the video tries their best to battle the sea creature, but the little thing clearly has experience taking surfboards at this point.
The 5-year-old sea otter is giving the officials some trouble, who are just trying to safely relocate it to another location so that surfers can enjoy the waves once again. Wildlife officers have named the surfboard stealer “Otter 841,” and have been tracking her bad behavior for multiple summers in a row.
A spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife released a statement saying:
“Due to the increasing public safety risk, a team from C.D.F.W. and the Monterey Bay Aquarium trained in the capture and handling of sea otters has been deployed to attempt to capture and re-home her.”
The reportedly spent all day yesterday trying to capture it, with no luck, even though they brought out a “dummy surfboard.”
That is hilarious.
A literal Otter-Hunt is actively taking place (not to kill it, but to capture and relocate), and the sea otter isn’t going to go easily.
It is believed that the otter was raised in captivity then released out into the wild, explaining why it comfortable approaching humans out in the ocean. Some have speculated that it was fed at one point, which has helped fuel it aggressiveness, though for the moment that is just a theory.
Clips of the surfboard stealing otter have circulated all over social media, with some even showing the animal “hanging 10” accidentally. This one below shows a board-jacking taking place, with the caption:
“Wildlife officials are working to capture an aggressive sea otter that has been menacing surfers and stealing surfboards off the California coast for several weeks.”
Twitter was mesmerized by the whole story, and some were even rooting for the anti-hero sea otter:
I am picturing the sea otter in a cave somewhere with his collection of surfboards pic.twitter.com/bn0EuFSQD0
— Glenn (@hagsHarmer) July 12, 2023
i was with orcas. now im with the otter.
— FishdoesNothing (@FishdoesNothing) July 12, 2023
— Matthew (@matthewmjs) July 12, 2023
I think the surfers should get her a little surfboard of her own. Way cheaper solution.
— Cassandra Curates Calamity (@DovedSimon) July 12, 2023
LOCALS ONLY.
— BDK (@grumpinthegrass) July 13, 2023
