Nobody in this quintessential beach town can say exactly why a sea otter began harassing surfers and stealing their boards a month ago, but officials can tell you that California’s most-wanted sea mammal is definitely refusing to surrender quietly.
With helicopters thudding overhead as she lounges in kelp beds, game wardens in wet suits tracking her as she dives for shellfish and crowds of observers cheering her on from the beach, the renegade otter that authorities call “841” has so far managed to avoid capture.
Officials say the otter needs to be trapped because her unusually bold behavior — which includes gnawing on surfboards — poses a danger to herself and humanity.
Taking her into custody however is proving very difficult, and the spectacle of a land, sea and air dragnet is causing some to wonder if it’s worth the effort. At the same time, some observers speculate that 841’s aggressive behavior may be due to hormonal surges brought on by pregnancy.
Since July 13, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — in coordination with California Department of Fish and Wildlife and biologists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium — have tried repeatedly to trap the otter from “both surface and underwater approaches.” Recent attempts have involved a “bait” surfboard and diver, and a nearby boat with a net and box to trap her.
On Monday, a four-person crew took motorboat into the area where she likes to swim, dive for urchins and crabs, and loll in the kelp. From the boat, they sent out an empty surfboard — a bright colored soft top, donated by a victim, according to Mark Woodward, a Santa Cruz social media influencer, who spends his days chronicling the goings-on in this seaside town — as well as a wet-suited swimmer.
Each time they put the board in the water, she’d approach and climb aboard. The swimmer, attached to the board by a leash, would then tow the otter — still on the board — toward the boat.
However, every time she got within about 50 yards of the boat, she’d dive off and swim away, said Woodward.
On Tuesday, a crowd of eight onlookers stopped along a fence, just south of the Santa Cruz lighthouse, and pointed down at the otter. They took photos and said “awwww” as she floated on her back, hitting some sort of shellfish repeatedly against a rock she had lying on her chest.
“This is her home,” said Jessica Beane, 48, of San Bruno. “They should leave her alone and let her be.”
Bruno and her friend, John Flores, 45, of San Carlos, had come over the mountains from the Bay Area just to see the otter.
“I had the day off and said, ‘Why not?'” said Beane.
The rebel otter can be identified by a blue tag on the webbing of her left foot — a relic from when she was born in captivity.
On most days, 841 can be seen eating, swimming and hunting just off the cliffs between the lighthouse and Cowell’s Beach, near the boardwalk. Unlike other otters, she hangs close to the cliffs, never more than about 20 to 30 feet offshore.
Surfers navigate around her carefully, and on the five evenings a Times reporter went to observe her, she completely ignored nearby wave riders — most of whom were surfing on hard boards.
