Otter 841, From The Lens Of Photographer Who Made Her Famous: Photos

SANTA CRUZ, CA — Before his photos made Otter 841 world-famous for her harassment of surfers — or, rather, theirs of 841, because the people whose boards have had huge bites taken from them are not exactly innocent — Mark Woodward was just a semi-retired guy who liked poking around Santa Cruz with his camera and taking pretty pictures.

The 62-year-old amateur photographer snaps photos of lots of things besides sea otters. He is a citizen journalist whose photos of floods, mudslides and other disastrous spring weather events were a vital link to people cut off from the communication. He plans to do more of that as a community service. It’s one way he can help. A lifelong resident, he loves Santa Cruz.

Woodward was at Cowells Beach on June 18 to photograph Black Surf Club Santa Cruz’s Juneteenth paddle out when he saw the now infamous sea otter taking a ride. He moved his camera, focused it and snapped a series of pictures that would ignite a fierce debate about whose ocean it is, anyway?

Woodward figured it was “a fluke,” a funny one, but still a one-off. But 10 days later, 841 hopped on another board and took a little sail. Woodward posted his photos under his social media handle, Native Santa Cruz, and “that was the start of the madness,” he told Patch in a phone interview Thursday.

The madness included more requests for his photos from more places around the world than Woodward could have imagined and a collaboration with four University of California, Santa Barbara students doing a documentary on human and animal interaction in the coastal area. And the madness certainly includes what Woodward calls a bungled response to the otter’s aggression by wildlife officials, at least from a public relations standpoint.

“Two days later, the Monterey Bay Aquarium reached out,” Woodward said. “We talked for an hour, and I learned a lot about 841. She does have a history.”

The notorious Southern sea otter was born at the aquarium to the similarly sassy 723, who was in captivity “because she got on surfboards,” Woodward said. When 841 was old enough, about 9 months, she was set free — with an identifying blue tag with her number and a GPS device on her fin so aquarium biologists could keep tabs on what she was up to and where she traveled.

It was a gamble — “an experiment,” Woodward said.

Animals born in captivity quickly become accustomed to being around people and dependent on them for food. According to published research, various species in captivity not only don’t have to work as hard for their food as their wild cousins, but they see humans as the source of their food.

And sea otters need a lot of food. Unlike whales and seals, sea otters lack blubber and rely on their thick fur coats and fast metabolism to stay warm. Just to meet their daily energy requirements, they need to eat 20 percent to 30 percent of their body mass in food every day, and more if they’re pregnant.

‘People In Santa Cruz Went Bonkers’

Otter 841’s first three years on her own were relatively uneventful. Last year, reports of sea otter aggression began to mount up. She pulled herself up on a surfboard in late summer 2022, then left Monterey Bay for a few months.

Within days of returning this past June she “got right back in the habit” of wresting boards from surfers, Woodward said. “She was doing it again.”

In all, he photographed 841 astride a surfboard on 10 occasions. She took bites from at least five of them.

By the time he got off the phone with aquarium officials, two days after his photos tickled the internet’s funny bone, Woodward said he was “in the camp that thinks she needed to be caught and checked out.”

Something was making her act aggressively, and the fear was it was the same domoic acid from a large algae bloom that sickened and killed thousands of sea lions and dolphins in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. It’s a terrible way for sentient marine mammals to die. They forget how to be sea otters or dolphins, how to dive for food and other basic traits.

When she showed no signs of poisoning, Woodward stood just as firmly with the “let 841 be free” camp that sprang up around the otter as the U.S. Fish & Wildlife, working with the aquarium, frantically tried to capture her with 300-foot nets. Even the Coast Guard was involved.

The sea otter’s behavior changed only to the extent that it escalated, they said. It was not safe for 841 to remain in the wild, both for her sake and the sake of people, they said. When they raised the specter of euthanasia, what 841’s growing base of fans heard was that she had been sentenced to life and prison and, failing mercy, to death.

“People in Santa Cruz went bonkers,” Woodward said.

They argued — in letters to the editor, in online petitions, and on T-shirts, stickers and coffee mugs, everywhere they could think of to spread or affix the message — that 841 was there first and deserved to be free.

Fish & Wildlife officials backed off like a camper confronted by a grizzly bear. They never mentioned euthanasia again.

“She will not be euthanized,” Woodward said, “even if she bites a surfer.”

‘She Outsmarted Them Every Time’

Otter 841 was wise to her would-be captors’ plan, anyway. She played along as if it was a game, but foiled the efforts in the end.

“Multiple times, she allowed herself to be towed 50 yards and within 5 feet of the boat,” Woodward said, explaining that 841 would slide off and into the water just in time.

“She just outsmarted them every time,” he said, the mirth in his voice showing his delight at the outcome. “Every time.”

From 841’s perspective, the boards may provide a place to rest without having to expend any energy at all to stay afloat. Sea otters are adept tool users. They’re whip-smart, too — as smart and perhaps smarter than dolphins, noted for their intelligence and complex problem-solving abilities, according to peer-reviewed research.

From Woodward’s perspective, 841 was keen for a lark.

“She obviously enjoys surfing,” he said. “She seems to be a really smart animal, knows how to deal with a wave. She’ll come within feet of the shore, and get in between surfers, even with the baby, she’ll get between surfers.

“Don’t go there, honey,” he found himself saying.

Woodward isn’t immune to the swell of affection for 841. Along with everyone else, Woodward fell hard for her. Not only that, he respects her.

‘She’s Getting Big’

Wildlife biologists had speculated 841’s behavior could have been due to hormonal surges associated with pregnancy. Woodward had no doubt when, about two weeks ago, 841 suddenly stopped surfing.

“She’s getting big,” he told himself as he snapped off photos. “She’s got a big belly.”

Woodward thinks he’s the first photographer to get pictures of her with her pup. He calls them “841 +1.”

Woodward felt something akin to paternal pride as he stood on a cliff, his long lens extended and fixed on 841 +1 about nine days ago.

“I was excited,” he said. “This beautiful animal had given birth in the last two weeks. I felt myself starting to tear up. I was emotional.”

Woodward has taken lots of pictures in his life after picking up photography as a kid, using a Brownie wind-up camera his aunt had given him when he was 11 or 12. Most of the time, he makes a picture of a sea lion, bird or some other sight that enchants him and moves on.

“This was the first I ever took photographs of the same animal all the time,” he said. “Others are random, and you forget about them when you walk away. This was like taking pictures of your dog, over and over.”

With a pup, Otter 841 has gotten a reprieve. The Fish & Wildlife Service said on Oct. 26 that it had paused efforts to capture 841.

‘Let Her Be Free’

Southern sea otters were hunted to near extinction for their fur in the 1700s and 1800s. Their population has rebounded under protections in the Marine Mammal Act and California law, but they are still listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. These laws prevent “unauthorized” harassment, hunting, capture or killing of sea otters.

Even getting so close to a sea otter that it changes its behavior may constitute a violation of those laws, resulting in fines up to $100,000 and a year in jail.

Importantly, the law seeks a change in human behavior, not otter behavior.

Woodward is pleased by growing awareness of what’s at stake for 841 and other sea life as they share the ocean with humans, even as he remains incredulous about the attempts over several weeks to bring her in.

More On 841

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• Sea Otter 841 Is A Splash As A Halloween Costume In Santa Cruz
  

They could do all that, but not put a small boat on the water to remind people drawn to Santa Cruz by the lure of its waves that the law in California requires they keep their distance? Woodward is incredulous at the question.

That’s the crux of the problem, he said.

The surfers who come to Santa Cruz for its world-class waves understand keeping their distance from sea mammals is one of the rules of their sport, and they know the legal consequences, Woodward said.

“Surfers are really respectful,” he said.

The paddleboarders and kayakers may know better, he said, but they don’t always keep their distance. For a while, as 841’s infamy grew, the closer they came, trying for selfies with the boogie boarding sea otter.

Woodward said he’s talked to people with businesses that offer rental kayaks and paddleboards about talking to their customers about the rules of the bay.

This is the off-season for tourists, so there aren’t as many people at the beach. Surfers are still there, though, and 841 +1 are mainly just working at being otters. She’s teaching her baby how to dive for food. And Woodward is continuing the hobby that gave 841, and him, a moment in the spotlight.

“I definitely have learned a lot about sea otters, and how important it is to be an advocate,” he said.

Also, he said, “Let her be free.”

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