An otter is pictured in California.Photo:Getty
Getty
A California man was left with about 40 puncture wounds after he says two otters attacked him while he was swimming at his family cabin last month.
While going for a dip at Serene Lakes in Placer County in September, Matt Leffers was bit in his calf, before being bit again, he toldKCRA. After swimming fast to get away from whatever was attacking him, Leffers told the outlet that an otter then “popped up right in front” of him before biting him some more.
“These things were so aggressive that, literally, I felt like they wanted to kill me,” he said.
Leffers, whose suffered 40 puncture wounds, explained that two otters bit him over a dozen times while in the water. He was eventually taken to the hospital after his wife rescued him via paddleboat, KCRA notes.
Images shared with the outlet show Leffers' body with gashes on both his arms and legs. The California man added that it was a “big red flag” that he wasn’t the only person attacked in the area in recent months — citing another otter attack that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife told KCRA took place in July at Feather River. A department spokesperson also told the outlet that otters attacked dogs in Redding, California recently too, and that river otters “won’t normally attack people or larger animals” but will “defend their territory if they feel threatened.”
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“We recommend reducing the frequency of fish stocking and limiting stocking to the non-swimming section of the lake," the letter reportedly read. “The goal of managing the lakes’ fisheries in this way is to reduce the amount of food available in the swimming area, creating an area that is less attractive to the otters. Additionally, we advise the community members to avoid swimming in the lakes for the remainder of this season, and to increase educational signage in frequently used public areas.”
Leffers argued to KCRA that the department needed to “mitigate the situation.” The department will reportedly next come up with a strategy after learning more about the otters.
Montana Fish and Wildlifeshared in a statement at the time that otters “can be protective of themselves and their young, especially at close distances.”
AsNBC Newsreported, a rabid otter in Florida also bit a man and his dog while he was feeding ducks at a pond near his home in September. Joseph Scaglione, 74, was bitten in both his arms and his legs.
source: people.com
