Wildlife Officials Struggle to Catch Surfboard Stealing Otter

• An otter in California forcing people off their surfboards has so far evaded the grasp of wildlife officials.
• Divers tried to capture the otter last week with a bait surfboard but it was too quick for them.
• The otter's mother is also known to wildlife officials for approaching boats and kayaks.

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People have recently filmed otters aggressively attacking people on surfboards in California.

In one video, an otter — named Otter 841 by wildlife officials — can be seen climbing onto and then gnawing on a surfboard near Sant Cruz.

"This is a dangerous sea otter, avoid it if at all possible!" the caption reads.

A team from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Monterey Bay Aquarium were dispatched to the scene on Wednesday. They tracked and then attempted to catch the otter with a bait surfboard. 

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Mark Woodward, a wildlife photographer who posted the video to Twitter, told a local FOX News affiliate that he saw a team of five divers attempting to lure the otter onto the board so they could capture it.

The otter jumped onto the board briefly, but escaped before the divers were able to grab it with a net, the outlet reported.

"They can't throw a net over it because it will get tangled and drown," Woodward said. "That's also why they can't tranquilize it."

Kevin Connor, a spokesperson for Monterey Bay Aquarium, said Otter 841 is considered a danger to the public because it is ignoring its natural survival instincts, ABC reported.

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"When we see this type of behavior exhibited by otters, it is a sign that they no longer have that healthy fear of human beings that allows them to stay safe in the wild away from us," Conner said.

Conner told the outlet that the otter's mother, Otter 723, was released from the aquarium in 2017 and that there were some reports of her approaching boats and kayaks but "nothing to the extent that we've seen with Otter 841."

Still, the incidents caused the US Fish and Wildlife Service to deem Otter 723 "unreleasable," so she was recaptured and discovered to be pregnant with 841, Conner said, according to ABC.

Conner said there are now no plans to euthanize either otter. Once Otter 841 is captured, Conner said it would be evaluated by veterinarians and then will likely spend the rest of its life in captivity in either a zoo or an aquarium.

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The US Fish and Wildlife Service did not immediately return Insider's request for comment Saturday.

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