Aggressive sea otter trying to steal surfers’ boards sought by California wildlife officials
These surfers otter be careful.
California wildlife workers are on the hunt for a combative sea otter that’s frightened surfers and even tried to steal their boards, leaving wildlife experts bewildered and worried.
One video posted on Twittershows the female otter forcefully ripping a surfboard away from a young man who was paddling in the water off the Santa Cruz shore, and other photos show the otter already lounging on top of another surfboard.
The otter was also caught confronting a woman on a surfboard in recent days, according to another tweet.
The photographer who captured the otter images described one of the encounters he witnessed to KGO that he summed up as “wrestling match.”
“It was a true wrestling match over this surfboard,” Mark Woodward reportedly said. “And the person finally got it away and it was damaged. Basically, the board was destroyed.
“Literally the day before, I filmed the surfer that got so freaked out by it that he left his board and swam back to shore without it.”
San Jose State University marine professor David Ebert warned the animals are “actually pretty aggressive.”
“They’re not as cute and cuddly as people tend to think,” he told the station.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife chalked the behavior to possible hormonal surges or due to humans feeding her, KGO reported.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) told KTVU it was aware the otter was “exhibiting concerning and unusual behavior” and approved the sea creature’s capture.
Members of the state’s fish and wildlife and the Monterey Bay Aquarium are working to snatch up the otter.
The state agency said the otter, who is now 5, was born in captivity “under very unusual circumstances after her mother was removed from the wild for flashing aggressive behavior.
“She gave birth to the pup in captivity and cared for it until weaning, at which time the pup was released to the wild and the mom was transferred to a facility for long-term care,” sea otter biologist Colleen Young told the station.
Once the otter is captured, the veterinary staff at the Monterey Bay Aquarium will check her out.
There are reported injuries from the surreal interactions between the otter and people so far.
Woodward tweeted a sign that warned others of an “aggressive sea otter in this area.”
“Enter the water at your own risk,” the sign states.
The hostile otter is a far cry from the pup seal that caught some waves with surfers at California beach last month.
