Last week, three women were attacked by an otter on the Jefferson River in southwest Montana. The trio was floating a mellow, “booze-cruise” section of water on inflatable inner tubes when the river otter went in for the kill.
A Facebook post by Jen Royce who was life-flighted away from the incident, outlines the Jaws-like scene that unfolded: “Around 8:15 pm the otters attacked us. It lasted maybe 5 minutes? I really cannot remember. We were in the middle of the river in a deep and wide stretch that went far back from the road and behind the mountains. I saw one otter right behind my friend before it attacked. I didn’t even have a chance to get the words ‘there is an otter behind you’ out before it attacked her.”
Royce continues into the gory details: “The thing was vicious and relentless. It bit my face in several places, both my ears, my arms, my hands, my thighs, and my ankle…One friend’s thumb was shredded and she has bite marks all over her body as well.”
The three women fought back and made their way to shore, where the otter finally disengaged. The women then called 911, and waited an hour for first responders to arrive. Royce described those 60 minutes as “hell" and felt like passing out, but worried she wouldn’t wake up if that happened. At one point, she even told her friends that she loved them, and asked them to take care of her children if it came to that.
At the ER, Royce received rabies and tetanus shots. Her cuts were flushed out with saline. She was given antibiotics through an IV. She needed hundreds of stitches on her ankle, leg, arms, hands, and fingers. She went into a 5-hour surgery to treat the wounds on her face and ears.
In response to the incident, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) published a press release with some sage advice. “Otters are members of the weasel family,” FWP writes. “If you are attacked by an otter, fight back, get away and out of the water, and seek medical attention.”
By those standards, the recent attack was about as textbook as they come.
But believe it or not, otter attacks might be more common than one might think. In a scientific review paper published in the IUCN Otter Specialist Group Bulletin, a team of researchers writes, “We reviewed all evidence of otter attacks on humans for any geographical and temporal relationships from the earliest (1875) to the most recent (Dec 2010). There was a total 39 anecdotal articles and 4 scientific publications found dealing with violent human-otter interaction (bites, attacks, deaths). The majority of attacks dealt with the North American otter (Lontra canadensis—77%) and geographically occurred most often in Florida (38%).”
According to the researchers, female otters in particular can be territorial and aggressive when defending their young. Otters give birth in April and tend to stay with their offspring all summer. It’s possible that the aggressor in the Montana attack was defending her litter, but we may never know.
Either way, FWP posted signs at nearby boat ramps warning people of otter activity in the area. And as for the victims? They’re on the road to recovery. “We’ve been offered homemade salves using local flowers from our area to help treat our scars,” writes Royce on Facebook. “I know we will make it through.”
Images via Jen Royce's Facebook Page.
