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Otter Attacks
When River Otters Attack
July 2006 - A local river otter allegedly attacked two swimmers over the Fourth of July weekend at Sugar Pine Reservoir near Iowa Hill, California. The first attack occurred on July 1st. The second attack happened on July 3rd.
Here's a few random quotes from the local and national media coverage of this story:
- "It is one of the prettiest retreats in the Sierra Foothills, but tonight campers at a Sugar Pine resort are on the alert...keeping their eyes peeled for otters on the attack".
- "I was terrified. I was in shock. I couldn't feel it biting me, but all I was thinking was, 'Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening to me,' and I was so scared".
- "When I got out of the water, it followed me out of the water to attack me again, but my friend grabbed a rock and scared it away."
- "Rumors are now swirling at the campground that the victims may have tried to touch the otter -- a big mistake."
- "They're cute to watch on TV, but not in real life."
- "It's a good reminder for anyone to remember the forest is home to a lot of wildlife species."
One of the otter-bite victims was from Monterey, where earlier this year an otter that was nibbled-on by a great white shark received a first-of-its-kind surgery to repair an injured limb.
The accused Placer County river otter, which is a protected species, was killed on Monday night by Fish and Game officials who thought the mother otter might have been trying to protect its babies.
Sugar Pine Dam, located between Iowa Hill and Foresthill, was completed in 1982, flooding river otter habitat along North Shirttail Creek.
More alleged animal attacks in the news...
Update:
In late June 2006, there was another"Thirteen year old Emmy Clyatt of Mount Shasta was enjoying a day of inner tubing on the Klamath River near Iron Gate dam with her family in late June when an attack by a river otter turned the day into a desperate fight for survival...." Mt. Shasta News
On October 4, 2006, we received an email from the parent of an actual river otter attack victim (ROAV):
June 2006 - "My daughter, Emmy, was attacked by a river otter last night. She will be fine, but the experience was unique and tramatizing enough that I felt it worth sharing with friends and family who enjoy the outdoors. Though I had heard stories of otter attacks, I presumed those victims had somehow been at fault by coming too close to a den or had acted in some other form of provocation. I would not have believed that an otter would pursue someone with apparent malice as far as this one did unless I had witnessed it myself.
"It has been hot up here, so we planned our innertube ride for late in the day to avoid the afternoon heat. Things took a bit longer than planned and we ended up at the base of Irongate dam on the Klamath river at about 7:30 in the evening. The sun was still up, but this area of the river was in shadow, which may have played some part in the drama. Emmy, her sister Katie, my neice Rose and I jumped in, while my wife Sheila and Rose's daughter Katrina drove down the river road to our pickup point. Sheila warned us to be careful about otters as we departed, but we all made fun of her. Emmy got a head start, as she usually likes to be first in a hike or float like this, and the rest of us were about 50 yards behind. We saw an otter head in close to the shore, swimming toward the shore, and we all manuevered toward the center of the river. The otter stopped a few feet from the shore, then swam out toward the center. It faced the three of us, then looked at Emmy, who was evidently closer and smaller than the rest of us. It began pursuing Emmy, who screamed at it and began kicking her legs to scare it away. The otter continued the pursuit as all of us floated at a rapid pace downstream and far away from where I believe the otter nest was located.
"The otter pulled up short near Emmy, assessed its target, then dove under the water. It first attacked the innertube, popping it immediately and rendering it useless. Emmy begans swimming for shore, but the otter repeatedly attacked her underwater, biting her several times on the legs and ankles. The rest of us paddled as fast as we could, but could do little to close the gap between us. Once Emmy made it to shore, the otter turned to face me, and I figured I was next. I got up on all fours on my inner tube and screamed loudly at the otter various threats, none of which I could have carried out, but it must have decided I might be a bit more of a challenge so it disappeared underwater and was never seen again. I got out of the water near Emmy and quickly realized that none of her wounds were life threatening, so I concentrated on calming her down and treating for shock.
"While all of this was happening, Sheila had been watching helplessly from the opposite side of the river. From her vantage, she could see a house with several occupants outside just downriver from us. She screamed at them and pointed upstream, so two men came to my aid. We got Emmy back to the house, where Rose and Katie joined us. First aid was administered in the form of copious amounts of hydrogen peroxide on the wounds and drinking water for the body. I was able to scream across the river for Sheila to meet us at a certain bridge far downstream (Ager Rd for the locals), but was fairly certain that once she got there she would try to find us upstream on the other side. In this part of the Klamath, that is near impossible. The roads are many and stray far from the river, and only a native could know where to go. Sheila did make an attempt at going upstream once she had crossed the bridge, but soon gave up. She instead went back to Irongate dam and found some person of authority, not sure whether Fish and Game or perhaps some hatchery staff. She asked if there was a road going downstream from the dam, and they said there was, but she was not allowed on it. They wanted her to fill out a bunch of paperwork, but she firmly told them to stuff it as she was going to find her daughter.
"Meanwhile, we all piled in a van driven by what turned out to be a very nice but fairly inebriated man. I had to gently remind him to stay on the right side of the road around blind curves as Sheila might be coming the other way. On several occasions I wondered how ironic it would be if we survived the otter attack only to be taken out by on oncoming car. We made it to the bridge where Sheila was waiting, then all piled into the truck for the ride to the hospital in Yreka. We knew Emmy was coming out of shock when she quipped that she had always wanted to view an otter close up. While filling out the hospital admitting form, the receptionist asked me if "they" were paying for the emergency room visit. I asked, "Who? The otters?!" I should have said yes, Mr. and Mrs. Otter of Klamath River, CA would be responsible for all medical costs.
"While Sheila and Katie attended to Emmy in the emergency room, Rose, Katrina and I drove back up the Klamath to where the second car was parked at our planned take out spot on the river. When we got to the car, an otter was lurking in the shallows on the beach. We figure there is a new terrorist cell called Al Queda in Klamath that should be investigated here.
"Emmy had her wounds cleaned up and was given several shots and antibiotics. She will apparently need several more shots in the near future to prevent rabies. The hospital staff said this was the 4th otter attack they had seen this year, and the people at the hatchery remarked that there was a move afoot to "get that otter".
"I have been thinking about what one could bring along on a tube ride to defend oneself against these attacks, but even a tennis racket would be virtually useless against an underwater attack. The only other thing that comes to mind would be a pellet gun to scare the otter off while it was still some distance away, but if it decided to submerge there isn't much one can do. You ought to be able to go tubing without worrying about something like this, so perhaps a hard shell sit-on-top kayak is the way to go. At least you would have a paddle to jab at anything that comes too close and your legs are out of the water. Barring that, sticking together on the river is probably advisable, as I am sure the predator tactic of going after the small and separated played into account here. Tubing in full sunlight is also probably a good idea, as at least you would have a clearer view of what was going on under the water." - T.J.C. - 10/4/2006