Posted on 06/06/2024 12:12:04 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Marauding marine mammal makes cameo at contest, chews surfboard
Surfer Karl Anderle knew just whom he was dealing with Saturday in Santa Cruz when he turned around and saw a large adult sea otter sitting on the back of his board: Otter 841, the notorious marine mammal whose surfboard-stealing and wave-riding rampage last summer captured the world’s attention.
“I’m going over in my mind what I should do,” said Anderle, 69, who had been sitting up on his board at a surfing contest as a volunteer keeping non-competitors out of the competition zone. “I didn’t really want her to bite me. I didn’t want to be that guy fighting an otter in the middle of a surf contest. I had to maintain my cool.”
Anderle, who said he has observed Otter 841 frequently over the past couple of years and watched her steal a surfboard from a friend last summer, slid into the water and held onto his board as the creature, bearing her characteristic non-functional tracking tag, indulged her proclivity for chewing on soft-topped surfboards.
Anderle tipped his board up, hoping the animal would hop off, but she scooted up and clung on, he said. So, he decided he would “hang and chill and pretend that this is normal.”
For about 15 minutes, the otter laid on the end of his board, rolled around a bit, and continued to chew, Anderle said Tuesday, showing about a dozen punctures and furrows the creature’s teeth left in the foam surfboard top.
Otter 841, six years old, garnered world-wide fame last summer after Santa Cruz photographer Mark Woodward captured photos and videos of her stealing a surfboard, and even riding a wave. The aggressive behavior by the otter — born in captivity at a UC Santa Cruz research center, and raised by
(Excerpt) Read more at eastbaytimes.com ...
And she was born in captivity, because her mother was almost as rebellious as she.
Ping
(Surfer Karl Anderle knew just whom he was dealing with Saturday in Santa Cruz when he turned around and saw a large adult sea otter sitting on the back of his board)
I guess he knew what he otter do.
The website wants to send me some of their special made notifications.
(Otter 841)
Maybe it’s a T-841
From the future
Hyper-alloy combat chassis - fully-armored - very tough
How many times are you going to post this stupid azz story?
That vid would have had a million hits by the end of the day.
Why is it so stupid?
otterly tubular
That looks more like a paddle board than a surfboard.
Yeah, surfboards don’t have handles on them. And that is one big long board too!
Better an otter than a great white shark!
Instead of “Otter841” can’t they give her a proper name like “Sha’neeka?”
And yet she surfs...I like the 841 “be ungovernable” t-shirt...
https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/48201545-be-ungovernable-841-otter
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