iStockphoto / David McGowen
For the second time in as many years, a sea otter in Santa Cruz, California has stolen a surfboard and taken it for a joyride as the surfer tries in vain to retrieve it.
Nor-Cal’s KSBW News shared a video taken of the surfer paddling to get his surfboard back after the otter jumped on it and began to swim it away while gnawing on the board.
Normally, if a seal or otter were to hop right up onto a surfboard or into a boat then it’s natural to wonder what predators were in the area leading to this behavior. But in this instance, the otter seems more concerned with chewing on the nose of the surfboard and swimming it away than getting away from a threat in the water.
OTTER THEFT | Otter steals another surfboard off the Santa Cruz Coast and swims away with it when the owners try to get it back. pic.twitter.com/Ij2d7qMQLE
— KSBW Action News 8 (@ksbw) June 29, 2023
According to KSBW News, the sea otter was “going from board to board” so it wasn’t just the one instance here caught on video.
Interestingly, this also happened last year in Santa Cruz. A curious sea otter stole a blue surfboard and took it for a ride. The surfer paddled after his board while possibly thinking about what could’ve been lurking below, all while the sea otter was living his best life:
Sea otters are amongst the cutest creatures in the ocean and that’s not up for debate, it’s a fact. But like any wild animal they should be given lots of space in the wild. There’s a very real concern of a wild animal like this becoming overly familiar with humans and the threats that brings on both sides.
The nearby Monterey Bay Aquarium estimates there are 3,000 sea otters in California. The ‘Southern’ Sea Otter is found from San Mateo to Santa Barbara County while their ‘Northern’ Sea Otter counterparts are found up in Alaska and Washington.