An otter in Santa Cruz is hassling surfers — and stealing their boards

In Santa Cruz, California, a sea otter is earning a reputation for stealing surfboards from local surfers.

The big picture: The otter, resident to the Steamer Lane point break area, has become known for climbing out of the ocean onto surfers’ boards, and occasionally forcing them to abandon their boards altogether.
* A Santa Cruz native, Mark Woodward, who has photographed otters for many years, acknowledged this behavior as astoundingly unusual.
* While the scenes have been amusing for onlookers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) officials warn that the otter poses a public safety risk.

Behind the behavior: Officials said the otter’s behavior could be associated with hormonal changes or previous human feeding.
* Southern sea otters, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, are key predators in California’s coastal ecosystems and are legally protected.
* The otter, officially known as otter 841, was born in captivity due to her mother’s excessive friendliness with humans, and was released into the wild in June 2020.

What’s next: A team from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Monterey Bay Aquarium is attempting to capture the otter for relocation.
* Unfortunately, once captured, the otter will not be able to return to the wild due to her lack of fear of humans.

In historical context: After almost going extinct from hunting in the 1700s and 1800s, the southern sea otter’s population has rebounded to around 3,000 individuals, which is still only 30% of the estimated original population.

View original article on NPR

This summary was created by an AI system. The use of this summary is subject to our Terms of Service.

Contact us about this post

Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *