In Santa Cruz, an uncomfortable little sea creature crunches surfboards. The authorities are trying to arrest him to take him to another location. But the real threat is of human origin, as the species has long been hunted and is now threatened.
After the vengeful orcs, here comes the filibuster otter. The sea creature does not freeze, climbs onto the boards of frightened surfers and even goes so far as to become aggressive. This lawless otter is actively wanted by the authorities who want to stop his hilarious thefts. For a few weeks now, the five-year-old woman has been targeting surfers in Santa Cruz, not far from San Francisco, in the USA. But in the last few days, his boldness has doubled.
In a video posted to Twitter, the sea otter climbs onto the board of a terrified glider pilot who tries in vain to turn his longboard upside down to resist him. Without moving a bit, the mammal clings to the foam object and starts biting it.
Wildlife protection agencies are working to capture an aggressive sea otter that has been threatening surfers and stealing surfboards off the California coast for several weeks. pic.twitter.com/3LeEkR55V4
– NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 12, 2023
“I was scared,” Joon Lee, victim of that meeting, told the Los Angeles Times. “I tried to swim away but before I could escape the otter bit my leash [la corde qui relie la planche à la cheville d’un surfeur, ndlr]said this computer engineer. “I panicked,” he admits.
Faced with this resurgence of insolence, the authorities have decided to take action. “Due to the growing threat to public safety, a team […] “A person trained in the capture and handling of sea otters was deployed to capture and relocate them,” the US Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday, July 12. A Santa Cruz city official also posted signs along the shore Tuesday morning warning surfers of an “aggressive sea otter” in the area and advising that entering the water is “at your own peril and risk.”
Loss of fear of people
This woman’s unusual behavior in California remains unexplained. She may be pregnant, says Jessica Fujii, science and operations manager for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s sea otter program. According to this specialist, otters need a lot of food energy to stay warm and healthy in the frigid waters of the Pacific. And these demands are doubled for otter mothers, who need to raise their unborn young and provide them with adequate rich, fatty, and nutritious milk.
Nonetheless, this sea otter is well known to local scientists. According to the New York Times, she was born in captivity to a mother who lost her innate fear of humans after being illegally fed. To prevent the pattern from repeating itself, the Monterey Bay Aquarium staff who cared for the animal before release went as far as wearing masks and ponchos to keep the animal from becoming accustomed to humans. Despite these efforts, the female began to approach the males about a year after being released into the sea.
Encountering a sea otter is a rare occurrence for American surfers, kayakers and sailors. Because these animals are no longer very numerous, having narrowly escaped extinction in the North Pacific: Until the early 20th century, American settlers hunted them for their fur. The still threatened species has now reached 3,000 specimens in the region.
With their little heads sticking out of the water, these animals are universally prized. However, otters remain predators and their bites are dangerous, scientists warn. Their powerful jaws can pierce the shells of crabs, clams, and sea urchins. These animals can weigh up to 45 kilos and be 1.50 m long. All relative “terrors of the seas”.
Humans pose a greater threat to otters. Should someone be bitten, the state would have no choice but to euthanize the animal. And since there are so few sea otters left, the loss of a single individual would spell disaster for the species.