Surfboard-stealing sea otter terrorises California beachgoers
- Wildlife workers are trying to capture the five-year-old female, who has shown aggression toward people and poses a public safety risk
- The marine mammal has approached kayakers and climbed on surfboards, sometimes even wrestling them away from the owners
Wildlife officials were trying to capture a wayward sea otter on Thursday that has been wrestling surfboards away from surfers and aggressively approaching kayakers off the coast of Santa Cruz, California.
The five-year-old female otter has shown aggression toward people for several weeks and poses a public safety risk, the US Fish and Wildlife Service said in a statement.
Video and photographs shared on social media show the marine mammal getting on top of different surfboards – on at least one occasion biting and tearing chunks off a board – and aggressively approaching surfers.
A team of wildlife experts with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the nearby Monterey Bay Aquarium were working to capture and rehome the animal, the service said.
“While there have been no confirmed reports of injury, due to the highly unusual behaviour of this otter, kayakers, surfers, and others recreating in the area should not approach the otter or encourage the otter’s interactions,” the USFWS said.