An “aggressive” sea otter’s rampage directed at surfers in the Santa Cruz, California area has prompted authorities to issue warnings to avoid the contentious little fucker after several recently reported incidents of bites, scratches, and outright theft of surfboards, CBS News reports.
A California Department of Fish and Wildlife official told CBS that the otter, a five year-old female identified as 841 who was reportedly born in captivity and then released, is “exhibiting concerning and unusual behaviors,” including “approaching surfers and kayakers recreating in the area,” which might be kind of underselling it considering local cops have posted warning signs telling beachgoers to be on the lookout for the feral mustelid. Cal DFW also issued a statement saying they’ve put together a crack squad “trained in the capture and handling of sea otters” to close in and “to attempt to capture and rehome” 841. Officials did not say if the task force would go undercover as surfers to bait her in to attacking, but we’ll go ahead and assume that’s part of the plan.