A hilarious video of an otter stealing a man’s surfboard off the coast of California has prompted internet speculation on the animal’s true motives.
The footage of the interaction was posted to Twitter on June 29 by KSBW and shows an otter hijacking a surfboard while the owner is away swimming.
The animal quickly swims away with his new ride as the surfer chases after, treading several feet behind the mammal and then engaging in a battle for the board.
More than 2.4 million views have raked up on the incredible video with thousands of people weighing in with jokes, puns, and conspiracy theories.
‘The otters have joined the war,’ one person wrote, referencing the internet implying that orcas have waged a war on vessels in their home waters.
A hilarious video of an otter stealing a man’s surfboard off the coast of California has prompted internet speculation on the animal’s true motives
‘The otters have joined the war,’ one person wrote, referencing the internet implying that orcas have waged a war on vessels in their home waters
The one-minute video starts by showing the otter latching onto the board and beginning to tug it away deeper into the ocean.
The encounter took place in June in the waters of Santa Cruz.
In the clip, the surfer rushes after the otter and becomes enveloped in a full-blown water fight, splashing water at the mammal to try and get him to leave.
The otter appears unfazed and even repeatedly mounts the board until the clip ends without showing how the situation between the pair was resolved.
KSBW also shared another article referencing a similar interaction recorded just days beforehand at a nearby beach.
In that story, the friendly otter swam up to a group of surfers and jumped from board to board, catching a ride unbothered by the humans around him.
Since posting the first video on June 29, the tweet containing the clip has been retweeted and favorited thousands of times by Twitter users.
More than 1,000 people have quoted the tweet sharing hilarious captions and memes about the playful theft.
‘It’s the otter audacity for me tbh,’ one person wrote. ‘And did the surfer really think splashing water was going to make the otter go away?’
The one-minute video starts by showing the otter latching onto the board and beginning to tug it away deeper into the ocean
In the clip, the surfer rushes after the otter and becomes enveloped in a full-blown water fight, splashing water at the mammal to try and get him to leave
The otter appears unfazed and even repeatedly mounts the board until the clip ends without showing how the situation between the pair was resolved
On Twitter, many others speculated that the otters had teamed up with the orcas who the internet has joked are laying claim to the ocean.
‘Santa Cruz otters just got back from two weeks of Summer Camp with the Orcas,’ one person wrote in a response.
‘“The orcas said y’all not supposed to be out here no more!”’ another added.
‘First the orcas, now the otters. The uprising has begun. “The sea will take, what the sea will have,”‘ wrote a third Twitter user.
‘Otters have joined the Orcas. There is no hope for us now. I, for one, welcome our new aquatic overlords,’ shared a user named Chris.
‘The ocean dwelling creatures had a meeting and decided they were reclaiming their home,’ another wrote.
On Twitter, many speculated that the otters had teamed up with the orcas who the internet has joked are laying claim to the ocean
‘Santa Cruz otters just got back from two weeks of Summer Camp with the Orcas,’ one person wrote in a response to the viral clip
The internet has spent the last several months joking that the orcas and other sea creatures are organizing an ‘animal uprising’ to overthrow the humans.
In June, Daily Mail.com reported that White Gladis, an orca who is believed to have kicked off the ‘coup’ was thought to have been pregnant when she first started ramming into boats.
The orca has even taken her newborn calf with her on terror expeditions.
White Gladis is among a pod of killer whales that have been attacking boats off the coast of Spain and Portugal since the summer of 2020.
The so-called ‘orca-uprising’, believed to have been instigated by White Gladis, has seen the species ramming and circling ships before wrenching away their rudders.
Daily Mail.com reported that White Gladis (pictured), an orca who is believed to have kicked off the ‘coup,’ was thought to have been pregnant when she first started ramming into boat
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk