Surfing California sea otter appears to be a new mother
The Santa Cruz sea otter that has amazed and flabbergasted the public for commandeering surfboards and then catching waves on them now appears to be a mother.
Called 841 for the number given to her by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the 5-year-old sea otter was observed swimming with a tiny, furry pup on her belly Tuesday afternoon by Mark Woodward, who has followed the otter’s movements closely since the summer, with frequent posts on X from the handle Native Santa Cruz.
Though neither U.S. Fish and Wildlife nor the aquarium have been able to confirm the new mother is 841, Woodward said he could see her ID tag through his camera’s telephoto lens. Before that, the last time he saw her was Friday without a pup. Sea otter gestation lasts six months on average.
“Now it makes perfect sense this whole time she’s been getting on board she’s been pregnant,” said Woodward, in a phone interview from Lighthouse Point, where a group had formed, all straining to see 841 in the distance. Woodward said wildlife officials told him earlier that they wondered if she might be pregnant because that could explain her behavior.
Woodward has posted photos of 841 cuddling her pup and also leaving it briefly, floating in the kelp bed, while she appeared on the surface with a crab. He allowed the media to use his photo of 841 and her pup as long as they reminded people to not attempt to swim, kayak or paddleboard near them or get within 150 feet.
“This is a critical time for 841 and pup, observe them from the cliffs only!” he tweeted, recommending good vantage points along West Cliff Drive.
Woodward was the first to post photos of 841 surfing on June 18, he said, and has gone to the coast to look for her every few days since.
The otter started getting headlines after that initial sighting and several other surfing incidents. As she was sometimes aggressive toward surfers and kayakers who tried to retrieve their boards or otherwise get too close, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put up warning posters about her at the beach, and attempted to capture her several times, unsuccessfully.
Woodward, who is not a scientist, wondered if 841 might be pregnant after he thought her belly looked larger.
The Santa Cruz native said he loves taking photos of wildlife, but that this is the first animal he has taken repeated photos of because of her ID tag.
He said he feels “like a proud papa” now.
“Once I realized it was 841 I kind of squealed a little bit and realized I started to get emotional,” he said. “She’s been part of my life for the past four months.”