Third person attacked by 'vicious' otter on the Pilchuck River

Updated
Man: 'Vicious' Otter Popped My Raft And Chewed My Leg
Man: 'Vicious' Otter Popped My Raft And Chewed My Leg



LAKE STEVENS, Wash. - First, we learned an otter put a little boy and grandmother in the hospital with serious injuries. Now, another victim has come forward.

"The cute little otter was not so cute," said Radek Bazant, of Snohomish.

Bazant was floating on the Pilchuck River in Washington a few weeks back when he says the otter attacked from below, popping his raft and chewing on his leg.

"It was very vicious and snarling."

When he got to shore, he says blood was pouring out of his wounds. He went right to the hospital where they patched him up before giving him a tetanus shot and antibiotics.

Bazant thought the otter attack on him might be an isolated case. It wasn't.

On Thursday, an 8-year-old boy was attacked on the Pilchuck near the same spot. When his grandmother ran in to help, the otter turned on her. She's still in the hospital with severe damage to the muscles around her eye.

Wildlife officials don`t know if the river otter was protecting its pups or its food source – but clearly it's not a fan of people. They closed that portion of the river park, and are frantically trying to trap the animal.

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