Video shows sea otter hitching ride on B.C. woman's paddleboard

Sawatsky Sign-Off: Otter Board Adam finds out what happened after an otter climbed on to a Westshore woman’s paddleboard.

LANGFORD, B.C. — When Joanie Paquin was walking towards the water the other day, she was preparing to go paddle boarding with her visiting sister. She never expected to pick up a second passenger.

“I’ve been living here for 12 years,” Joanie says. “I’ve never seen a sea otter.”

Which means that spotting the two sisters perched on one paddleboard was likely a first for this sea otter too.

“It was very curious about us,” Joanie says. “And we were curious about it.”

The otter was also charismatic. It seemed to be putting on a performance for the sisters.

“It was very adorable,” Joanie smiles, recalling how the otter was twirling around in front of them. “We felt very privileged.”

But then the otter’s actions made Joanie feel very cautious.

“It started getting closer and closer,” Joanie says.

But before the Jaws theme song could even begin to play in the sisters’ heads, the otter started climbing onto the paddleboard.

“I kind of pushed it away with my paddle,” Joanie says. “But it was very persistent.”

Joanie thought it might be injured or fleeing from a predator.

“It showed no signs of stress,” Joanie says. “It seemed pretty happy doing its thing.”

Its thing was being cute, catching a ride, and eventually posing for a photo with the surprised sisters.

“Of course we were really excited about it,” Joanie says. “But kind of uncomfortable too.”

Joanie was well aware her passenger was a wild animal, so she started paddling back to shore.

Although she had tried to keep a respectful distance, never encouraged contact, and certainly never fed the animal, the otter stayed on the front of the paddleboard the whole way.

“It was just living its life,” Joanie says of the five-minute journey. “Just enjoying the ride.”

After the otter eventually disembarked on its own, Joanie posted pictures of her otter encounter online.

Tens of thousands of people responded. Many shared pictures of their own experiences ferrying animals, which included squirrels, copperhead snakes, and pregnant monkeys.

They all seemed grateful for their unexpected passengers, like Joanie and her sister.

“It was very special. It was something we will never forget,” Joanie smiles. “It was magical.”