Numerous surfers in Santa Cruz have been victims of a crime at sea: boardjacking. The culprit is a female sea otter, who accosts the surfers, seizing and even damaging their surfboards in the process. Sea otter steals surfboards by California seashore:
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — For the past few summers, numerous surfers in Santa Cruz have been victims of a crime at sea: boardjacking. The culprit is a female sea otter, who accosts the wave riders, seizing and even damaging their surfboards in the process.
California sea otters, also known as southern sea otters, are an endangered species found only along California’s central coast. Hundreds of thousands of these otters once roamed the state’s coastal waters, helping to keep the kelp forests healthy as they consumed sea urchins. But when colonists moved in on the West Coast, the species was hunted to near-extinction until a ban was put in place in 1911.Despite these close quarters, interactions between sea otters and humans remain rare.
Otter 841 was first observed climbing aboard watercraft in Santa Cruz in 2021. At first, the behavior was a rarity, but over time the otter grew more bold. This past weekend, the otter was observed stealing surfboards on three separate occasions. While Lee immediately recognized the danger he was in, not everyone in the water is so aware. Last month, Noah Wormhoudt, 16, was catching some waves with a friend off Cowell’s Beach in Santa Cruz when 841 swam up.
The young surfer watched from the water while the otter stayed atop his board as the swell rolled in. “The otter was shredding, caught a couple of nice waves,” Wormhoudt said.
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