A surfer had a run-in with a sea otter last week in the same vicinity that the infamous Otter 841 was menacing surfers and kayakers two years ago, in what turned out to be a hormonal reaction to being pregnant.

Do we all remember Otter 841, the aggressive, then-five-year-old female sea otter who became a social media sensation in the summer of 2023 after she was documented menacing surfers and kayakers, and even chasing people off their own surfboards? By that October, she was seen giving birth to a pup, and experts suggested the otter's earlier, unusual behavior could have been a result of her being pregnant.

Now, as the Chronicle reports, via a Santa Cruz Fire Department post on Facebook, a female surfer had an encounter with a similarly aggressive sea otter who chased her off her surfboard near the popular Steamer Lane break. The surfer may have been bitten by the otter, the department said, and when lifeguards arrived on the scene, the otter was observed sitting on top of the woman's surfboard.

This led to a PSA that was posted Friday by a Santa Cruz Fire Department lifeguard, advising people how to handle an aggressive sea otter.

"If a sea otter is on your board," he says, "1. Clap your hands and splash water at the sea otter [and/or] 2. Get off your board and swim to shallow water, pulling your board with your leash."

The behavior of Otter 841 was considered fairly odd at the time, so it seems possible that this is the same otter — and maybe she's pregnant again?

The fire department has not confirmed whether this is the same otter.

We'll have to see if more, similarly aggressive otter encounters occur.

Previously: After Last Summer's Santa Cruz Otter Sensation, SFFILM Festival Brings a Glorious Otter Documentary

Photo by Michael Steinman