SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Sea otter 841, the surfboard-biting and -stealing mammal who became a national sensation this summer, has given birth to a fluffy baby pup.
On Wednesday afternoon, she was seen far off the Santa Cruz coast, rolling and spinning in the kelp and waves with a little otter pup on her belly.
Mark Woodward, her No. 1 fan and most dedicated chronicler, said he spotted the pup for the first time Tuesday afternoon.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I think I let out a yelp when I saw it.”
Woodward — a social media influencer who goes by the tag @NativeSantaCruz on Twitter, Instagram and Threads — said that as recently as Friday, 841 had been swimming and feeding solo.
The pup’s birth, yet to be confirmed by wildlife authorities, may explain 841’s unusually aggressive behavior toward multiple surfers — at least one of whom abandoned their board and saw it carted off by the slick-haired cousin of the skunk and weasel. The gestational period for otters is roughly six months, and during this period, hormonal changes can cause the animal to become aggressive, experts say.
Emerson Brown, a spokesman for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, said he and the “aquarium team” had “seen tweets, like everyone, but can’t confirm anything based on those images. We are waiting on confirmation from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.”
A spokeswoman said the federal agency was deploying someone to the area Thursday to confirm the pup’s existence.
“While wildlife biologists suspected sea otter 841 may (have been) pregnant earlier this year, they were unable to verify the pregnancy without capturing the sea otter to perform a full health evaluation,” said Ashley McConnell, communications team leader in the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Hormonal surges related to pregnancy have been known to cause aggressive behavior in female southern sea otters. … There are currently no plans to attempt capture.”
She’d given birth twice before. Her first pup survived; the second, born this spring, did not.
Gena Bentall — director and Senior Scientist with Sea Otter Savvy, a local research and environmental organization — said she and her organization were “not participating in or supporting any media publicity around 841. We do not feel it is in her best interest.”
Woodward wasn’t surprised by Bentall’s response. After the media blitz this summer, he said, he saw several boaters and kayakers harrassing the otter, potentially stressing her out.
“People need to know they should give her space,” Woodward said, citing federal regulations that require boats to keep a distance of 60 feet.
“To help give sea otters and their pups the best chance at survival in the wild, it’s important for members of the public to give them and their pups space, especially when recreating on the water,” said McConnell, noting that sea otters are protected by the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and California state law.
She said a violation of these laws could result in penalties, including fines up to $100,000 and jail time of up to one year.
News of the pup — which was posted on the site formerly known as Twitter, by Woodward and Dustin Mulvaney, a professor of Environmental Studies at San Jose State University — was greeted with amazement by many.
Zach Friend, a Santa Cruz County supervisor, said: “It’s beautiful to see the expansion of Team Otter. Hopefully she will be given the space she deserves to raise our newest, and already famous, Santa Cruz County resident.”
