Otters aren't usually the first animals that come to mind when thinking of mischievous behavior, which is why it's quite surprising when these furry sea mammals tend to do something a little delinquent. This happened with an otter in Santa Cruz, California, who was behind multiple surfboard shredding incidents.
Otter Surfboard Thief
According to Futurism, a female otter was discovered to be the culprit behind a series of surfboard jacking incidents in Santa Cruz, California. This otter already had a reputation of harassing surfers within the area.
New York Times reports that the otter's antics have gotten out of hand, resulting in the California Department of Fish and Wildlife working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium to look for the otter. The main objective was its apprehension and rehoming for the sea mammal known as Otter 841.
The otter was said to be five years old and was considered one of the endangered species. This came as California sea otters have seen dwindling numbers as more humans start moving to the central coast of the state.
Futurism reports that so far, there were still 3,000 otters around, with many of them frequenting the beaches also often visited by surfers. This mischievous mammal, Otter 841, actually has a unique background.
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Background of Otter 841
The mother of Otter 841 was reportedly orphaned and grew up in captivity, but upon release, she adapted a new habit. Because of how humans would start feeding her, she started to learn how to climb on top of the kayaks.
When a local wildlife vet center got her, they found out that she was pregnant, which resulted in the birth of Otter 841. The mischievous otter was then moved to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which was an early part of her story.
The incidents started to happen when Otter 841 no longer feared humans as she had gotten used to them. Jessica Fuii, the sea otter program manager of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, shared how they started to receive complaints about the sea mammal.
Mischievous Streak
Otter 841 was reported to having interactions with kayakers, surfers, and even paddle boarders. This happened after a year of the mischievous otter being out in the wild.
Fuii said that they didn't know how it started and that they weren't able to gather evidence that these humans indeed fed Otter 841. However, they were still able to spot the event persisting for a long time.
Ever since then, there have been reports of surfers starting to abandon their surfboards since the otter started climbing onto them. The otter would then rip them to shreds using its jaws, and although they're cute, the report highlights how strong their jaws were.
These surfers would then have to give up their boards when the otter got on board due to its behavior. Smithsonian Magazine reported how the capture of the otter was being sought due to "public safety risk."
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