A serial surfboard thief has been plaguing a stretch of Californian shoreline - and the unlikely perpetrator is a sea otter. 

In not less than 4 separate incidents, the otter has climbed onto surfboards, biting and scratching them.

In some instances, the mammal's behaviour was so aggressive the surfers needed to abandon their boards and swim to shore.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has posted indicators alongside the Santa Cruz shoreline warning of an "aggressive sea otter in this area".

"Enter the water at your own risk," the signal reads.

Mark Woodward, a photographer who goes by Native Santa Cruz on Twitter and Instagram, has been sharing movies and images of the ocean otter snatching and driving boards.

"This may seem cute and funny, but it's getting to be dangerous," he wrote on Instagram.

"I'm afraid that the sea otter, which was born in captivity and released when it was old enough, will have to be captured and live at a rescue sanctuary."

Read extra from Sky News:One of world's oldest giraffes diesWho desires to be the following US president?

The otter, often known as 841, was born 5 years in the past to an otter who was additionally identified to strategy individuals on kayaks.

But 841 was raised in captivity, so couldn't have copied the behaviour from its mom.

Experts do not have a transparent rationalization for the behaviour, however the otter could also be going via hormonal surges or being fed by people, in line with the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Wildlife officers are working with sea otter consultants from Monterey Bay Aquarium to try to seize and rehome the otter.

Content Source: information.sky.com