More sea otter–surfer encounters reported in Santa Cruz a day after board theft
By Ricardo Tovar
Click here for updates on this story
SANTA CRUZ, California (KSBW) — More instances of sea otters interacting with surfers were reported in Santa Cruz, a day after a similar instance.
Local photographer Mark Woodward, also known as Native Santa Cruz, said he witnessed two such incidents Thursday afternoon.
Sea otter stealing surfboard on Oct. 15, 2025. Otter pirates surfer’s board in Santa Cruz, evoking memories of Otter 841 He said he noticed two sea otters feeding at Steamer Lane and ignoring the surfers around them. One of them then jumped on a surfer’s board.
Later, Woodward said another sea otter at Steamer Lane tried to take a shortboard. After the surfer got off the board, the otter grabbed the surfer’s leash and tried to pull the surfer backward, then chased after the surfboard.
Otter 841 continued to elude capture from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, July 15Otter 841 comes face-to-face with his would-be captors This comes a day after a surfer at Steamer Lane had her surfboard stolen by a sea otter, resulting in a water rescue.
Isabella Orduna was paddling out when she felt “a nip” on her foot. She rolled off and turned to see an otter perched on her board.
Unsure what to do, Orduna called to another surfer for help. A full water rescue followed, with emergency crews arriving within minutes.
She was uninjured and in good spirits after the encounter with the sea otter.
The encounter revived memories of “Otter 841,” a female sea otter that went viral two years ago for repeatedly taking over surfers’ boards in Santa Cruz.
Whether it’s the same otter is unknown. Experts note there’s no current way to confirm 841’s identity; she previously had a tracker, but it’s no longer on her.
Otter 841 continued to elude capture from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, July 15Santa Cruz’s surfing sea otter still free after weeks of attempted captures “The vast majority of surfers here respect and avoid sea otters and other marine life they may encounter, as they should. This is their home; we humans are merely visitors and need to act like it. As they have in the past, I hope our ethical surfers will speak up if they witness someone intentionally approaching a sea otter or other marine life. We need to coexist in our coastal waters, so let’s all watch out for each other and our wildlife,” Woodward said in a social media post on Friday.
KSBW 8 has tried multiple times to reach the US Fish and Wildlife for comment on the strange sea otter activity. So far, they have yet to comment. It is unclear whether the government shutdown is impacting the response.
Santa Cruz Firefighters said they have contacted Fish and Wildlife regarding Wednesday’s otter activity.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.