A baby was dragged off a dock and underwater in a uncommon assault by a river otter at a marina in Washington state on Thursday, the Washington Division of Fish and Wildlife mentioned.
The otter pulled the younger baby underwater with the mom nonetheless on the dock at Bremerton Marina in Kitsap County.
Moments later, the otter resurfaced and the mother rescued her baby out of the water. However the animal continued to assault, biting the mom’s arm, in keeping with a news release from the fish and wildlife company.
The otter stored chasing the household as they tried to get off the dock. The kid was left with scratches and bites on high of their head, in addition to on their face and legs, and brought to an area hospital to be handled for the accidents, which officers described as minor.
Division of Fish and Wildlife Sergeant Ken Balazs praised “the mom’s fast actions and baby’s resiliency.”
The US Division of Agriculture Wildlife Companies labored to entice and “lethally take away” any river otters from the marina. One river otter was trapped the place the attacked occurred and transported to the Washington Animal Illness Diagnostic Lab to be evaluated and examined for rabies.
River otters are comparatively frequent all through Washington and could be present in contemporary, brackish or saltwater habitats, in keeping with the company. “Though encounters with river otters are uncommon, they are often territorial and, like several wildlife, are inherently unpredictable,” the information launch warned.
There have been six documented human-river otter incidents in Washington state within the final decade, in keeping with wildlife officers.
Final 12 months, three ladies have been attacked by an otter whereas internal tubing down the Jefferson River in Montana. All three ladies obtained remedy for his or her accidents. One of many ladies had “more serious” injuries and was flown to a hospital by way of helicopter.
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