SANTA CRUZ — When a colleague handed the picture alongside to sea otter knowledgeable Gena Bentall, she thought it was pretend.
“The first thing I said was ‘That is 100% AI (artificial intelligence),” Bentall mentioned with a chuckle. “Because that posture is so weird.”
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The viral image, captured Thursday by Sentinel photographer Shmuel Thaler, depicts in its foreground a surfer gliding down the face of a wave on the iconic Steamer Lane break in Santa Cruz. However it wasn’t the surfer’s posture that was surreal to Bentall. Simply past the curling wave and the surfer’s sprawling arms was a feminine southern sea otter that had thrust most of her physique out of the water into an upright place so she might take an extended, expectant have a look at the curious phenomena unfolding in entrance of her.
A sea otter pops vertically out of the water at Steamer Lane late Thursday afternoon to observe a waverider glide by close to Lighthouse Level in Santa Cruz. On Wednesday, a sea otter commandeered a surfboard from a surfer after which on Thursday an otter chewed and pulled a special surfer’s leash. Many have been questioning whether or not the animal concerned is the infamous Otter 841 who rocketed to worldwide fame in 2023 when she was photographed forcing a surfer from their board in pictures by Santa Cruz County photographer Mark Woodward. After the incident, the marine mammal was fitted with a radio transmitter to watch her exercise. Fish and Sport officers consider that Otter 841 chewed off her tracker, so nobody is bound whether or not she is the otter at the moment interacting with surfers. No less than 4 otters have been swimming within the lineup at Steamer Lane on Thursday. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Bentall, director and senior scientist at Sea Otter Savvy, mentioned the marine mammal will typically stretch its neck above water to examine its environment if one thing feels amiss or threatening. The conduct is named periscoping, however from what Bentall noticed within the picture and heard described by individuals on the scene, this seemed to be an excessive model of it.
“The description of it sounds completely aberrant to me and my colleagues,” mentioned Bentall.
The picture arrived amid a sample of bizarre incidents on the famed Westside surf break that started Wednesday and continued Thursday. First responders helped one native surfer return to shore late Wednesday after an otter hopped onto the deck of her longboard and lounged atop its waxy floor for an prolonged time frame earlier than swimming away.
An analogous scenario performed out in the identical space Thursday afternoon across the identical time Thaler’s picture was taken. Based on bystanders, there have been no less than two otters feeding straight within the “the lineup,” the pocket of ocean water the place surfers assemble to attend for breaking waves.
Mark Woodward, an area photographer who captured photographs of the Wednesday incident, returned to his identical perch above Steamer Lane Thursday to see if the peculiar interactions would persist. His instincts have been right.
After initially discovering the surfers and sea otters coexisting with out incident, Woodward instructed the Sentinel he walked away to look at different components of the shoreline. However by the point he got here again to his unique spot about 5 minutes later, he noticed that an otter had hopped onto one other surfboard, solely this time it was a shortboard.
“I guess (the otter is) trying out sizes,” Woodward joked.
A teenage surfer managed to shake the otter off the board and commenced to paddle away, however Woodward mentioned the otter pursued the surfer and grabbed on to his leash whereas “literally at one point pulling him backwards.”
The surfer finally managed to overpower the intrepid marine mammal and glide away whereas the otter shifted its focus again to feeding.
“(The otter) didn’t seem like (it) was going after the surfer at all. (It) just wanted that board,” mentioned Woodward. “Once they lock on a certain board, that’s the one they focus on. They ignore the other boards around them and keep going after that one.”
An area surfer at Steamer Lane paddles away as a sea otter grabs ahold of his surfboard leash and yanks him again. (Mark Woodward/Native Santa Cruz)
A sea otter rests peacefully within the water as a surfer speeds down a wave face at Steamer Lane on Thursday. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
A surfer paddles previous a sea otter within the water at Steamer Lane this week. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
A sea otter warning signal is now posted on the high of the steps heading all the way down to Steamer Lane. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
A Steamer Lane surfer retains his distance whereas a sea otter takes management of his shortboard Thursday afternoon. (Mark Woodward/Native Santa Cruz)
An otter feasts on the bounty of the Monterey Bay on Thursday at Steamer Lane. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
A sea otter pops vertically out of the water at Steamer Lane late Thursday afternoon to observe a waverider glide by close to Lighthouse Level in Santa Cruz. On Wednesday, a sea otter commandeered a surfboard from a surfer after which on Thursday an otter chewed and pulled a special surfer’s leash. Many have been questioning whether or not the animal concerned is the infamous Otter 841 who rocketed to worldwide fame in 2023 when she was photographed forcing a surfer from their board in pictures by Santa Cruz County photographer Mark Woodward. After the incident, the marine mammal was fitted with a radio transmitter to watch her exercise. Fish and Sport officers consider that Otter 841 chewed off her tracker, so nobody is bound whether or not she is the otter at the moment interacting with surfers. No less than 4 otters have been swimming within the lineup at Steamer Lane on Thursday. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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An area surfer at Steamer Lane paddles away as a sea otter grabs ahold of his surfboard leash and yanks him again. (Mark Woodward/Native Santa Cruz)
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A warning signal was stood up Thursday on the stairway that leads all the way down to Steamer Lane cautioning those that enter to be aware of their environment.
“Warning. Aggressive sea otter in this area. Enter the water at your own risk. Keep away from marine wildlife,” the signal learn.
Santa Cruz Hearth Division spokesperson Katie Lee mentioned the signage had been offered to the town by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The signal notes that any interactions could be reported to the Monterey Bay Aquarium at 831-648-4840.
When it comes to a response from wildlife officers, Bentall mentioned it’s her understanding at the moment that no additional motion — together with efforts to seize any otters — will likely be taken past the warning indicators.
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The Sentinel reached out to the California Division of Fish and Wildlife, however these officers deferred to counterparts on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, because the southern sea otter is a federally protected species below the company’s purview.
In the meantime, Bentall defined that the unflinching conduct of the otters could be considered by the lens of human habituation. About 3,000 sea otters inhabit the waters simply off the California coast and a lot of the territory they reside and feed in is shallow sufficient to overlap with human exercise. So in a location as well-known as Steamer Lane that persistently attracts an abundance of surfers all year long, the otters might turn out to be extra daring as their familiarity will increase.
“The more prolonged the exposure of sea otters and their offspring are to human activities, the higher the likelihood that this is going to occur more frequently,” mentioned Bentall. “This is just a product of our ubiquity in their habitat and it’s, in my mind, unavoidable and it’s probably going to get more common.”
It’s essential to notice, she added, that these interactions include a excessive value to the charismatic coastal creatures.
In contrast to different marine mammals, otters haven’t any blubber and rely as a substitute on a thick coat of fur to maintain heat within the frigid waters of the Pacific Ocean. However along with that, they have to additionally always feed to take care of their physique warmth. Each time they encounter a human, otters should shed vitality that could possibly be conserved by resting or used to search out extra meals.
Sea Otter Savvy has seven to 9 research websites alongside the Central Coast the place it observes sea otter conduct. Otters throughout all of these places have a each day common of six interactions with people, in keeping with Bentall.
“They cannot live their lives that way because of the high premium on energy,” she mentioned.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife beforehand advisable that kayakers ought to maintain no less than 60 ft away from sea otters and keep away from giant kelp beds. Bentall additionally mentioned Wednesday that if surfers come into shut contact with an particularly puckish otter, they need to do what they’ll to discourage that conduct by swimming away, making noises or splashing evenly.
“I can’t speak to what’s going on in an otter’s brain that’s trying to get on a surfboard. I have no idea what the motivations are,” mentioned Bentall. “But certainly that accustomation to the presence of people is contributing to it.”
