Otter Bites Surfer, Steals Surfboard in Santa Cruz (Video)

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Oct 17, 2025 12:32 PM ET

On Wednesday, a surfer at Santa Cruz’s Steamer Lane had an uncanny encounter with a bit of marine wildlife. Not a shark, but rather, an otter.

Isabella Orduna was minding her own business at the famed northern California righthander, when she felt a bite on her foot. She panicked, understandably, and rolled off into the water. Then, she saw an otter had commandeered her log.

Here’s Orduna telling the tale.

“All of a sudden, I feel this nip on my foot,” Orduna explained. “I’m like, ‘okay…that’s not good!’ I roll off my board, and look behind me, and there’s an otter on my board.”

The otter claimed Orduna’s board for 20 minutes, before she was able to call for help.

“There was another surfer nearby,” she said. “And I was like, ‘Hey! Can you help me out? I got bitten on my foot, and there’s an otter on my board.”

From there, lifeguard and fire officials descended upon the scene, and full-blown water rescue operation ensued. Per Marine Safety Officer Ben Coffey:

“You don’t necessarily go out surfing, thinking an otter is going to get on your board. But she was pretty calm overall. Luckily, she wasn’t hurt.”

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According to the Santa Cruz Fire Department: “The victim sustained no injuries and was not bitten by the otter.”

It’s also not the first time that an otter, at this very spot, did the exact same thing. A few years back a female otter, dubbed 841, repeatedly hopped on surfboards at Steamer Lane. Nobody knows if this is the same otter from that incident. The original otter surfboard thief had a tracker on her, but it has since fell off. Copycat or repeat offender? Unclear.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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