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A Santa Cruz surfer reported an otter biting her foot and then refusing to get off her surfboard for 20 minutesOfficials believe the otter may be Otter 841, an otter who went viral for a string of attacks on California surfers and kayakers in 2023The surfer was uninjured in the recent attack, and the otter that bit her left the scene

An otter with a history of crime may be back in California waters, stealing surfboards.

On Tuesday, Oct. 14, a surfer named Isabella Orduna in Santa Cruz reported an otter biting her foot and then refusing to get off her board for about 20 minutes. As reported by KSBW, Cruz was then rescued by local officials and sustained no injuries. The attack is similar to those by Otter 841, a sea creature known for harassing surfers to give up their boards, who hasn’t been caught stealing since 2023.

Speaking about her otter encounter, Orduna recalled feeling “a nip” on her foot before she waved down a nearby swimmer for assistance, leading to emergency help shortly after.

“I’m like, ‘Okay, that’s not good,” Orduna told KSBW of her reaction to the bite. “Roll over, or roll off my board, and look behind me – there’s an otter on my board.” 

Aggressive otter on a surfboard taken from surfer.

Hefti Brunold

Marine safety officer Ben Coffey was on the scene and assisted in Orduna’s rescue. “You don’t go out thinking an otter is going to get on your board,” he said to the outlet. “But she was pretty calm overall and luckily wasn’t hurt.” 

This isn’t the first time an otter has been reported harassing surfers in the area. In 2023, another otter, or perhaps the same otter, exhibited similar behavior – holding a surfer’s board hostage and damaging water equipment. 

That female otter, nicknamed Otter 841 from the mammal’s tracker placed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, went viral after multiple videos of her being aggressive towards surfers and swimmers spread.

“In the past five days now, there’s been three more incidents of it,” local photographer Mark Woodward told ABC 7 News of Otter 841’s hostile behavior at the time. “And they’ve all been much more aggressive. I have photographed a lot of otters over the years; I have never seen anything like this.”

A person in a wetsuit on a surfboard with an otter.

Hefti Brunold

Woodward recalled an Otter 841 incident he described as “a true wrestling match” for the surfboard. The surfer managed to escape, but their board was damaged from the tussle. 

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Local experts say that the recent otter attack in Santa Cruz could be Otter 841 returning to claim her territory, but the otter cannot be confirmed as Otter 841, since 841’s tracker is no longer active and may have fallen off. 

Otter 841 was released into the wild as a young pup in 2020 after being born in captivity and raised at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. In 2021, California officials started receiving reports about 841 acting aggressively towards kayakers and surfers.

The CDFW’s original goal was to recapture 841 and have the otter checked by a veterinarian, but officials are having a hard time catching her — especially with her tracker inactive. Jessica Fujii, the sea otter program manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, told The New York Times, “She’s been quite talented at evading us.”