International Courant
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Conservationists tried to seize a wayward sea otter thursday that was wrestling surfboards away from surfers and aggressively approaching kayakers off the coast of Santa Cruz, California.
The 5-year-old feminine otter has been displaying aggression towards people for a number of weeks and poses a danger to public security, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service mentioned in a press release.
Movies and pictures shared on social media present the marine mammal stepping atop a number of surfboards — on no less than one event the place it bit and rips items off a board — and aggressively strategy surfers.
A sea otter on a surfboard whereas one other swims close by alongside West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, California, on Saturday.Mark Woodward / @NativeSantaCruz
A workforce of wildlife specialists with the California Division of Fish and Wildlife and the close by Monterey Bay Aquarium was working to seize and rehome the animal, the company mentioned.
“Whereas there have been no confirmed experiences of accidents, as a result of this otter’s extremely uncommon conduct, kayakers, surfers and others recreating within the space mustn’t strategy the otter or encourage interactions with the otter,” the USFWS mentioned.
Federal conservationists mentioned the otter’s conduct is extremely uncommon and the precise explanation for such conduct is unknown. As soon as caught, the otter is evaluated by aquarium vets.
“Aggressive conduct in feminine southern sea otters could also be related to hormonal fluctuations or being fed by people,” federal officers mentioned.
They mentioned it isn’t the primary time the otter, which was born in captivity and later launched into the wild, has proven aggressiveness in the direction of people. The ocean otter was noticed with a pup after returning to the Santa Cruz space in Could 2022 and displaying related aggressive conduct 4 months later.
In September, a workforce of California conservationists and staff from the Monterey Bay Aquarium efficiently reamed the otter, stopping additional incidents throughout the winter, the USFWS mentioned.
Southern sea otters are listed as federally endangered below the Endangered Species Act and are protected by the Marine Mammal Act and California state legislation.
Surfboard-stealing sea otter is all the craze in California
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