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. This aggressive sea otter has been stalking surfers and stealing their boards as they prepare to ride waves for years. 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.
In the latest case, a surfer by the name of Isabella Orduna was paddling out to ride some waves when she felt something biting her foot. When she looked back to see what was happening, the otter reportedly jumped up on her surfboard and held it hostage for 20 minutes. It was only when other surfers and rescue officials got there to help that Isabella was able to get her board back.
The speculation is that this otter is the very sea otter that has been California Wildlife officials trouble for years. If it is “Otter 841,” then this is normal behavior. Unfortunately, the tracker that used to be attached to “Otter 841” has fell off, so there’s no real way to confirm the identity of the otter culprit.
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 this case tried their best to battle the sea creature, but the little thing clearly has experience taking surfboards at this point.
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.
All we do know is that surfers in Santa Cruz might be in for more than they bargained for, and evidently need to be prepared to fend off sea otters… or at the very least, one specific sea otter. You can check out ABC 7’s story on the small-but-feisty otter below:
Otters are not to be messed with.
Otter attack might seem like a rare occurrence, but allow me to direct your attention to some very scary incidents that have taken place in just the past couple of years. The little creatures pack a mighty punch, especially when they work together to do some of these things below:
-Brutally injured a woman in Montana that required her to be airlifted
-Group of them has ganged up on an alligator
–Attacked a man swimming in a California lake, and the man was quoted as thinking he was “going to die”
And believe it or not, there’s even more violent otter stories that I could link to. To say the little creatures have been on a terrifying tear would be an understatement. They might look cute and cuddly, but they are as viscous as wild animals come. Keep your distance from the otters… especially if you are surfing in Santa Cruz.
