Vicious Otter on the Loose in Florida Attacks Second Person in a Week
A woman in Florida received stitches and a rabies shot after being viciously attacked by a wild river otter while kayaking with her husband on the Braden River.
The otter jumped into the boat and lashed out at the couple in an unprovoked attack, not letting go until the kayak capsized. The event comes just one day after another reported otter attack in the same area.
Sue Spector, 77, and her husband, Marty, 78, went kayaking Sunday with a group of 10 people including an experienced guide, Fox 13 reported.
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At first, the group was delighted to see a river otter, but within minutes the animal jumped into the kayak and began to attack Spector. The animal clawed at the woman’s arms, nose and ears as the couple tried to fight it off with their paddles.
Eventually, the kayak capsized, leaving the couple in freezing, neck-deep water. It was only then that the otter swam off.
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"I took my paddle and I tried to get him off of me and he wouldn't let go and I kept screaming, I kept beating him with a paddle," Spector told Fox 13. "When you're [in the middle of] it, you don't have a lot of thought except you hope you survive."
This is the second otter attack this week in this area. The day before this attack, two other kayakers reported being bitten by a river otter within 2 miles of the Spector’s incident. Now there has been a sign posted to warn people of a possible aggressive otter in the area, WFLA reported.
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Although otters are perceived as playful creatures, they can have an aggressive side. The Undersea Institute of Aquatechnology warn that every year there are river otter attacks in the U.S., and female and young otters are especially volatile.
Spector received stitches for some of the deeper scratches and is on antibiotics. She also received treatment for rabies as a precaution.
Another woman who was also scratched in the attack went to the hospital for treatment, according to the Bradenton Herald.