The surfboard-biting sea otter in Santa Cruz has once again – evaded capture attempts by wildlife officials.
“I came over here and everyone’s talking about it and I said, well, I was videotaping a cute little otter and everybody said, hey, that’s a 841,” said Patrick Philips
The surfboard-biting sea otter in santa cruz has once again evaded, attempts of captures made by wildlife officials.
Colleen Young is one of the divers on the capture team from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. They’ve been working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium staff since July 2.
“I’m extremely frustrated and exhausted,” said Young.
These are photos taken Wednesday officials are responding because this five-year-old female otter is showing concerning and unusual behavior by approaching people.
“We don’t have this issue that frequently. So you know exactly how to capture an animal, with this set of behaviors. So, you know, we’re just trying to be as adaptable and creative as we can,” said Young.
This mischievous otter has a history. A spokesperson for monterey bay aquarium said the otter’s mom was rescued in Santa Cruz.
In 2016, the mom had reports of reproaching people on kayaks and boats but nothing to the extent of her daughter, otherwise known as Otter 841 which is her rescue number.
“Although we haven’t observed her being aggressive towards people. She’s really focused on the boards or if they’re wearing fins, she’s focused on the fins,” said Young. “You know, we don’t want to have a person accidentally bit.”
Officials said when she gets captured, she will undergo a health assessment and eventually be homed in a zoo or aquarium.
Local surfer Joseph Wilcox said that’s a shame, he held a surfboard Friday that said, ‘Keep 841 free’.
“Every time humans come across some nature that doesn’t act their way or acts like nature, we got to put it in a cage and take it somewhere, is where she belongs, this is her home, this is our home we can share it and yeah, watch out for the otters,” said Wilcox.
Wildlife officials said they had crews out on Friday and they’ll keep trying until they capture her.
“Obviously, the ocean is her home. Everyone who’s in there is a visitor, but unless everyone’s willing to stay out of the water, which I think is unlikely,” said Young. “Capturing her is the only way we see this.”
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