SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- On Wednesday, Isabella Orduna was catching some waves at Steamer Lane, a popular surf spot off Santa Cruz, when she felt a small nip on her foot.

Startled, Orduna, 21, a college student, rolled into the water. The moment she surfaced, she saw a "big, fuzzy, chunky bear of an otter" sitting on her board, she said. "I was like, wow, what do I do now?"

The hijacking of Orduna's surfboard was the first of two such incidents reported last week at Steamer Lane. On Thursday, another surfer had their board commandeered by a sea otter.

If this sounds familiar, that's because similar incidents happened there in 2023: A female sea otter known as 841 became a sensation after she climbed aboard several surfboards and evaded capture.

It's unclear if 841 is the culprit in last w

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