Despite Multiple Attempts, Adorable Yet ‘Dangerous’ Pirate Responsible for Stealing Surfing Equipment Continues to Evade Arrest

A cute pirate labeled ‘dangerous’ to surfers has emerged in Santa Cruz California. The crime? Stealing expensive surfing gear and biting it. The criminal? A small, dark, and fluffy whiskered otter who has developed a taste for surfboards. The sea otter in question is allegedly an otter born in captivity and later released to its natural habitat. Simply known as Otter 841, she is famous for getting extremely close to and terrorizing surfers, with one intent only, to conquer their surfboards.

Due to an increase in incidents along the balmy coast of Santa Cruz, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that they would be attempting to capture the otter and rehabilitate it. To give effect to this plan, teams from Federal and State agencies have been sent out to the sea, with baits. However, till now, the slippery and sneaky mammal is not ready to give up its reign of troublemaking.

Surfing gets a tiny little pirate

And the little pirate has pirated numerous surfboards till now, refusing to let them go despite rescue attempts. Her escapades are regularly documented by a local Santa Cruz photographer, Mark Woodward, who goes on Twitter as @NativeSantaCruz. Woodward is somewhat of a fan of this pudgy mammal, and 841 features regularly on his feed. In fact, Woodward was there when officials from Fish and Wildlife were attempting to capture the furry thief. However, 841 is smart and managed to elude capture effortlessly. In a video shared by Mark Woodward on his Twitter profile, Otter 841 was seen playing with the very official who came to grab her. 

In the caption to the clip, Woodward wrote, “Yesterday, 841 hopped on the surfboard for multiple rides being pulled by someone from Fish and Wildlife, only to jump off so they could do it again. It appears she thought it was fun”. According to a report by KSBW News, even though the otter came within a few feet of the wildlife experts, they still could not capture Otter 841. In turn, 841 was able to commandeer their surfboard as well, something she seems to have become quite skilled at. The otter has been interacting with humans for several years now, however, 2023 has marked a slew of encounters with surfers, some resulting in the loss of possessions.

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Otter 841 has become territorial regarding surfboards, and they seem to have become her favorite snack. Even though no injuries to surfers have been reported, she is known to scratch and bite surfboards. There have been at least 4 encounters this year, which is why the wildlife experts wish to first move the otter to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. After due examination and rehabilitation, the experts will then rehome Otter 841 to another aquarium. The officials have revealed that even if 841 bites a human, they will attempt to rehabilitate her, and, “Euthanasia would not be under consideration,” as per Ashley McConnell, an official of the agency.

The origin story of the furry thief Otter 841

According to a report by BBC News, the attempt to capture 841 began when experts saw what they deemed to be “concerning and unusual behaviour”. Mark Woodward has been equally fascinated by the tiny surfer and has seen it riding waves on stolen surfboards. The locals feel that they “have never seen anything like it”. According to Woodward, otters are not usually known to go near humans, which makes Otter 841 special in a way. One might say, it’s in her blood, as Otter 841 was born from Otter 723, another otter known to frequent surfing humans. Otter 723 was frequently fed by people off the coast of California and developed a taste for human snacks.

After a while, she started approaching humans in search of food. When she was re-captured and sent to Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center in Santa Cruz, it was discovered she was pregnant with a pup, namely, Otter 841. Despite making attempts to ensure that the otters stay wild and do not become dependent on humans for food, it does seem like 841 has inadvertently developed some affinity for humans after constant interaction with them in her formative years. For now, she remains as evasive as ever. Only time will tell if experts will be able to capture her for rehab, or if she will continue to grace surfing expeditions with her cute yet scary presence.

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