At least one sea otter, and maybe a copycat, has developed a thing for stealing and mounting the boards of surfers in Santa Cruz, California.
Santa Cruz surfer Isabella Orduna says a sea otter nipped her foot in the iconic surf break Steamer Lane and then climbed onto her longboard, commandeering it for roughly 20 minutes until first responders came to her aid.
Then, a day later, on Wednesday, a Santa Cruz photographer captured another otter encounter.
Whether they’re the quick-action shortboards or the long-gliding longboards favored by “soul surfers,” the otter doesn’t seem to have a preference.
“In this case, an otter took over” a shortboard, the post stated. After “the surfer managed to get it off, the otter chased the board and surfer,” grabbing the leash “and trying to pull it backward.”
In Orduna’s incident, a nearby surfer saw the surfboard abduction and called first responders for help. When they arrived, they found the surfer in the water and the otter sunning itself on her board.
These are not the first surfboard stealing stories at the famous surf spot. For the past two summers there have been numerous reports of tagged “Otter 841,” who has reportedly been on a board stealing spree since 2023.
That five-year-old female sea mammal has repeatedly approached surfers and kayakers and has taken bites out of boards. She was tagged with a radio transmitter and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California marine experts monitored the animal.
It is not known whether the most recent incidents were the work of the same animal or a “copycat,” 7 Eyewitness News reported, as the tracker is no longer on her.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more. He has ridden many southern California waves after learning to surf on the Great Lakes.