US woman gets 38 stitches after being bitten by otter in Lake Tahoe

Woman from Reno was swimming near Hidden beach when river otter attacked her, Tahoe’s second incident in a month

A swimmer at Lake Tahoe in Nevada was bitten by a river otter and needed to get 38 stitches for her wounds as well as rabies shots, local media have reported.

Lynnette Bellin from Reno was swimming near Hidden beach on the Nevada side of the popular tourist attraction on Sunday when she was attacked by the creature.

“I just felt something grab me by my leg and pull me under. And it was so powerful. It felt like it was a human,” Bellin told the KCRA3 television news station.

“This otter just started coming after me, teeth and claws, and, you know, my only thought was like, I got to get away from this. But it kept following me,” she added. “I tried to swim away from it at one point and it was just attacking my feet.”

Eventually, Bellin told the broadcaster, she was able to scramble out of the lakes on to some rocks and make it to a hiking trial. First responders then took her to a hospital for medical assistance.

Otter attacks are rare, though wildlife officials always advise people to give the wild animals distance if they see them. This is especially true in late summer when otters may be defending their young. “It’s very rare for us to see something like this,” Kenzie Margiott, a spokesperson for the Nevada department of wildlife, told KCRA3.

However, this is the second otter attack at Tahoe in a month. South Tahoe Now reported that earlier in August, a man was attacked by an otter on the California side of the lake near Pope beach. That swimmer also ended up in hospital with eight bite wounds.