They are attacking, I’m Otter here…
Otter 841, has been deemed a public safety risk after it aggressively hijacked a surfer’s board off the shore of Santa Cruz, California, the video below on shows. The otter is filmed lying on one side of the board, as the nervous surfer paddles around it trying to get it back. At one point, the sea otter flips the board on its front and then starts tearing it up with its teeth. The native Santa Cruz photographer who took the video, Mark Woodward, told KGO that the interaction was like a “wrestling match.” The otter was captured and will most likely stay in captivity, KGO reported. “Basically, the board was destroyed,” Woodward said, adding that this was not the first sea otter attack he had seen in the area recently. “Since then, in the past five days now, there’s been three more incidents of it,” Woodward told KGO. “And they’ve all been much more aggressive. I have photographed a lot of otters over the years, I have never seen anything like this.”
You may have heard of the recent rise in killer whales ramming into vessels off the coast of Spain and Portugal. The orcas have been recorded ramming into hulls, smashing rudders, and even sinking some boats. Some scientists believe the orcas are acting out against humans based on past trauma. In California surfers say, “The otters have joined the war,” while another tweeted: “Sea Otters joining the Orca uprising.” It is no joke, sea otters are taking over surfboards from the paddlers waiting for their wave. Sea otters have been filmed aggressively stealing surfboards away from swimmers around Santa Cruz. The five-year-old female sea otter, named “Otter 841,” has been hostile toward surfers. She forces them off their boards, which she steals, rides for a bit, and often damages with her powerful jaws.
“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,” he added. “I was scared,” said Joon Lee, a beginner surfer attacked by Otter 841 last Sunday. “I was trying to swim away, but before I was able to get far, it bit my leash [a tether attaching a surfer to their board]. So I panicked.” Lee managed to escape, but not before Otter 841 lunged at him and damaged his surfboard. Other photos taken by Woodward show otters lounging on top of another captured surfboard. It is possible the animals are acting aggressively due to humans constantly feeding them or hormonal surges, the California Fish and Wildlife told KGO. “They’re actually pretty aggressive animals,” “They’re not as cute and cuddly as people tend to think.” “She’s been quite talented at evading us.” For now, California surfers should be on the lookout for more than just a shark’s fin. Among the waves, they should also keep an eye out for the beady brown eyes of Otter 841.
Surfer signals
What’s the difference between an otter and a navy air-crewman?
At least the otter knows he’s not a seal.
How do surfers clean themselves?
They wash up on shore.
What does a male otter call his wife?
My significant otter.
Q: Why are baby otters born furry?
A: The mother pre-furs them that way.
July 13th Birthdays
1994 – Linnea Berthelsen, 1977 – Ashley Scott, 2000 – Brook Sorenson, 1984 – Carmen Villalobos
1946 – Cheech Marin, 100 BC – Julius Caesar, 1942 – Harrison Ford, 1941 – Patrick Stewart