Elusive Surfboard-Stealing Otter 841 Back in Santa Cruz, up to her Old Tricks
East Bay Times | 5/28/24 | Ethan Barron

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.”

The otter’s trail of mayhem shown in red: