An otter in Santa Cruz is hassling surfers — and stealing their boards

An aggressive sea otter in California is hassling locals by riding boards she stole from surfers in the lineup. Steamer Lane is a legendary point break nestled along the rocky shores of Santa Cruz, home to swaths of experienced surfers, as well as a 5-year-old female sea otter with a growing reputation for repeatedly confronting surfers and kayakers. Videos across social media show the otter hoisting itself out of the ocean and onto boards while surfers sit back in awe. At times she's chewed on the boards or forced surfers to surrender their boards altogether. Onlookers in the videos can be heard laughing in jest at surfers' misfortune, but officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say the otter poses a public safety risk.

tips

aggressive：侵略的；挑衅的（aggress 侵略）

otter：水獭🦦

hassle：困难；v. 麻烦；烦恼

lineup：阵容

hassle locals：困扰当地人

nestle：紧挨；依偎

shore：海岸

swath：长条区域，大块区域;（尤指）长条田地，大块田地；绷带，布条，带子；（用布）裹，绑，包，缠

reputation：名誉（repute 名望；认为）

confront：对抗；遭遇

hoist：升高；起重机；推动

kayaker：皮划艇运动员

awe：敬畏（awesome 可怕的，十分的）

chew：咀嚼

surrender：交出；放弃；投降

forced surfers to surrender their boards altogether：迫使冲浪者完全交出冲浪板

jest：笑话（jest- = gest- 带来，表示讲述英雄故事，后面通过闲聊过渡到开玩笑，嘲笑的意思）

misfortune：不幸（fortune 财富，运气）