Monterey Bay’s most notorious marauding marine mammal has surfaced — with a furry little copy of herself.
The Santa Cruz sea otter that shot to fame after photos spread worldwide of her stealing and riding on surfers’ boards has been photographed with a tiny newborn pup at her side.
Otter 841, with her distinctive blue tag from former captivity, was spotted Tuesday with a miniature version of herself at the same iconic surfing spot where she perpetrated mayhem on the waves this summer, and for months evaded capture by authorities deploying boats, nets, cages and scuba divers.
San Jose State University environmental studies professor and Santa Cruz resident Dustin Mulvaney, who has made a hobby out of spotting and photographing Otter 841, stopped by Lighthouse Point and the Steamer Lane surf break Tuesday and saw the animal, then noticed she was not alone. “I was like, ‘That looks like two otters,’” Mulvaney said Wednesday during a visit to the same location.
In recent weeks 841 — born in captivity at a UC Santa Cruz research center, and raised by her mother at the Monterey Bay Aquarium before being released — had appeared to have a swollen belly, Mulvaney said. He suspected the five-year-old animal may have been sick, or pregnant. Once he realized Tuesday he was seeing a little otter next to 841 and 841 had deflated to her previous size, he said, “It was a great feeling. It says that she’s doing well, and she had a successful pregnancy.”
Jess Fujii, sea otter program manager at the Aquarium, noted Wednesday that after 841 began interacting with surfers, experts hypothesized that her seemingly aggressive behavior toward humans may have resulted from pregnancy-related hormonal changes, but it could not be determined at the time whether the otter was pregnant. Gestation usually lasts six months, but can be as short as four, Fujii said.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife, which has been leading efforts to capture 841, said Wednesday it was seeking to…
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