Aggressive Sea Otter Terrorizes Surfers in Santa Cruz (Video)
Typically, when it comes to marine life, sharks are the main concern for surfers. Especially in known great white hotspots, like northern California and Santa Cruz.
But there’s a new terror stalking the lineups in Surf City of the North – a sea otter has been repeatedly seen around Cowells Beach, commandeering surfboards, gnawing on them, and acting aggressively to anyone who comes in her (it’s a girl) path.
As we previously reported, a sea otter had been carousing the lineup before in recent weeks at Cowells, and presumably it’s the same one.
In multiple posts from local photographer, Native Santa Cruz, the sea otter can be seen pestering surfers, hijacking surfboards, and acting overall erratically.
Per an interview with ABC7, Mark Woodward, the man behind Native Santa Cruz, said:
"Since then, in the past five days now, there's been three more incidents of it. 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.
"It was a true wrestling match over this surfboard. 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."
According to officials, sea otters can actually be pretty dangerous.
"They're actually pretty aggressive animals," SJSU's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Professor David Ebert told ABC7. "They're not as cute and cuddly as people tend to think."
Ebert added:
"They really don't want to be around humans. But if they have an association from the time that they were born, that sea otter may not have a fear of people and might just cause some to be more aggressive."
Apparently, a team of marine wildlife experts is looking into options as to what to do with this particular sea otter, like, perhaps finding it a new home in captivity.
In the meantime, they suggest humans keep their distance.
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