Officials Seek Surfing Otter, Deemed A Public Safety Risk

Officials and wildlife experts in the Santa Cruz area are on the hunt for a sea otter that has been deemed a danger to the public. The critter has been seen taking people's surfboards and kayaks, and officials say it's becoming increasingly dangerous.

Over the weekend, the otter exhibited multiple instances of aggressive behavior toward surfers off Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz.

In one case, which was caught on video on Sunday, the otter approached a surfer completely without fear and climb onto the board, threatening the surfer.

"This is a dangerous sea otter, avoid it if at all possible!" wrote Mark Woodward as he shared the video.

This wasn't the first grand theft otter that Woodward shared. Recently, he also shared a pair of otters enjoying the surfboard one of them stole from somebody, and a catamaran that saw the incident and took over.

So far, wildlife officials haven't had any confirmed reports of the otter biting anybody.

"Due to the highly unusual behavior of this otter," theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said, "kayakers, surfers, and others recreating in the area should not approach the otter or encourage the otter’s interactions."