Sea otters have been recorded trying to hijack boards from surfers in California.
As The New York Times reports, two incidents occurred recently at Steamer Lane, a popular surf spot off Santa Cruz, California.
It says that similar incidents happened there in 2023, when a female sea otter known as 841 became a “sensation” after she climbed aboard several surfboards and evaded capture.
The recent incidents haven’t been linked as yet to 841, but they “highlight the need to manage clashes between a rising number of human aquatic sports enthusiasts and a resurgent population of marine mammals in their natural habitat”, it says.
The number of sea otters and the number of surfers in Santa Cruz have been steadily rising for years, so “things like this are likely to occur more frequently,” Gena Bentall, director and senior scientist with Sea Otter Savvy, told the newspaper.
The organisation works to reduce human-caused disturbances to sea otters and promote responsible wildlife viewing.
A study conducted by Bentall and colleagues has found that sea otters living in developed areas along California’s central coast are disturbed by humans an average of six times a day.
“Not only is this costing the sea otters precious energy, but it’s also causing them to lose their fear of humans, leading to more undesirable and risky interactions,” the newspaper says.
Read The New York Times HERE (subscription required)
