Sea Otter Surfing Bandit Is Back (Maybe)

When we last left the sea otter known as Otter 841, the 5-year-old female was harassing surfers off of Santa Cruz, commandeering – and occasionally taking a bite out of – their surfboards. That was two years ago; now she’s back, perhaps.

In recent weeks there are reports of encounters with a sea otter at Steamer Lane, a popular surfing spot off the California coast. The behavior is familiar to surfers who’d met Otter 841, but local authorities have not confirmed it’s the same animal.

In one incident, 21-year-old surfer Isabella Orduna was nipped on the foot as she paddled between waves. After rolling off her board, she looked back to see a “big, fuzzy, chunky bear of an otter” sitting on her board, as she described to the New York Times. “I’d call it an exploratory nip,” she said. “It didn’t puncture my skin or anything.”

Orduna tried tipping her board over and shouting to shoo the otter off, but the animal hung on. Onlookers called 911 and the surfer was helped back to shore by a marine safety officer for the Santa Cruz Fire Department. The otter  surrendered the board after a brief struggle.

The behavior of the little pirate looks a lot like Otter 841, but she’s not wearing the blue tag that made her easy to identify. 

If it is Otter 841, it will mark another chapter in an unusual life. This sea otter was orphaned as a pup and raised in the Monterey Bay Aquarium, then released at about a year old. She started bothering surfers in 2021 and kept it up for two years, evading capture by the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. She eventually got pregnant, had a pup of her own, and stopped terrorizing surfers.

If the current miscreant is not Otter 841, it could mean that other sea otters have observed her cheeky behavior and are taking up the cause. Either way, surfers should steer clear. If there are more “exploratory nips,” it’s likely the DFW will take more aggressive action.

Photo credit: @NativeSantaCruz via X