A sea otter has been seen clambering onto a surfboard and following surfers off Vancouver Island, prompting reminders from Fisheries and Oceans Canada to keep away from shut interactions with the mammals.
Pictures and movies on social media present the otter following a bunch of three surfers off Whiffen Spit in Sooke, B.C., about 40 kilometres west of Victoria on Saturday.
The otter is seen using the swells among the many surfers, clambering onto a surfboard with its rider and swimming after the group, regardless of their efforts to paddle away.
Paul Cottrell with Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Marine Mammal Response says the surfers did the precise factor to attempt to keep away from contact, since wild sea otters behave unpredictably and should carry illnesses, and could be aggressive and chew in the event that they really feel threatened.
Cottrell says there’s a authorized requirement to report any unintentional interplay with wild sea mammals to make sure security for all concerned.
Photographer Doug Clement says the otter lingered across the surfers for greater than an hour earlier than leaving.
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“I assumed it was a seal at first,” Clement stated. “The surfers, you possibly can see, had been like, ‘Get away from us! Don’t come close to us!’
“You’ll be able to see they’re attempting to get away from it, he saved swimming in the direction of them. After which after they’d cease, he’d type of sit there a couple of foot or two away from them and float on his again — and simply stare at them.
“Then after they began to maneuver, he’d begin to transfer, too.”
The state of affairs is uncommon however not distinctive — a sea otter in California grew to become infamous for chasing surfers and hijacking their boards off Santa Cruz in 2023.
Cottrell stated Fisheries and Oceans Canada would monitor the state of affairs in Sooke and will take into account relocating the animal if “destructive interactions” had been reported.
“This isn’t widespread behaviour for a sea otter,” Cottrell stated, noting that it could be the identical animal that was reported attempting to work together with paddleboarders in the identical space within the fall.
“If it’s the identical sea otter, which we consider it’s … we’ll preserve our eye out, and we’ll preserve signage up simply to inform individuals within the space to bear in mind and to keep away from these interactions as a lot as they’ll.”
Clement stated the animal could have been staying near the surfboards to flee close by predators reminiscent of sea lions.
“I’ve seen that with seals earlier than, the place they leap on the boats to do away with the killer whales,” he stated. “In order that’s my first thought — possibly he was attempting to hunt refuge on the board as a result of he saved attempting to climb on.”
In one other latest encounter with sea mammals on Vancouver Island, a sea lion lumbered onto Freeway 4 from Kennedy Lake on Sunday, disrupting site visitors earlier than it was herded again to the lake by police and a Parks Canada warden.
In that case, Cottrell says all the things was carried out accurately, with the authorities instantly notified to stop autos from operating into the ocean lion and inflicting accidents on both finish.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
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