Nature & Environment
Teen Cousins Attacked by River Otter in Kalama River [VIDEO]
Benita Matilda
First Posted: Jul 29, 2013 10:08 AM EDT
Two teenage girls playing in the Kalama River were attacked by a river otter. Generally, river otters are not a menace to humans but they do attack if they feel threatened, which is what happened to the teenagers.
The two teenage cousins Kierra Clark, 13, and Matalyn Longtain, 11, were playing on a rope swing in the Kalama River when the incident occurred Wednesday.
While playing near their grandparent's home in Washington State, Clark felt a sudden pain in her leg. She had no clue that a monstrous otter had grabbed her leg and was biting it.
"At first it felt like somebody was just, like, grabbing onto my leg with their nails, and then it felt like somebody was like stabbing me kind of. It was probably one of the scariest things ever," Clark was quoted in Katu.Com.
As the teens swam back to the shore screaming for help, the otter followed and continued to bite their legs and ankles. As they climbed onto a float of canoes they turned back and spotted the river otter staring at them with huge eyes and protruding, sharp teeth, reports Daily Mail.
The two girls were rescued by their grandfather, Bob Schlecht Jr., and his friend Fred Palmer, who dragged the duo ashore.
"I could see she had blood streaming down her leg," said Clark's grandmother, Arlita Schlecht. "(It was like) a scene out of 'Jaws.'"
"I've been here 60-some years and never seen anything like it," said Fred Palmer 'And there's always kids out there swimming in the summer."
A fish biologist, who was called by Palmer, believes that the young teens could have accidentally come in between the otter and her babies.
Clark received several bite marks and scratches on her leg and was given a tetanus shot and plans to return to swimming once her cuts are healed.
Similarly, last year, a 27-year-old Franklin man was attacked by a river otter and he sustained several bites and scratches on his legs.
According to Craig Bartlett, spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, around this time of year several animals have newborns, hence, they are protective and aggressive. The appearance of river otters around this time of year is not uncommon. But what is definitely unusual is a river otter attack.
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First Posted: Jul 29, 2013 10:08 AM EDT
Two teenage girls playing in the Kalama River were attacked by a river otter. Generally, river otters are not a menace to humans but they do attack if they feel threatened, which is what happened to the teenagers.
The two teenage cousins Kierra Clark, 13, and Matalyn Longtain, 11, were playing on a rope swing in the Kalama River when the incident occurred Wednesday.
While playing near their grandparent's home in Washington State, Clark felt a sudden pain in her leg. She had no clue that a monstrous otter had grabbed her leg and was biting it.
"At first it felt like somebody was just, like, grabbing onto my leg with their nails, and then it felt like somebody was like stabbing me kind of. It was probably one of the scariest things ever," Clark was quoted in Katu.Com.
As the teens swam back to the shore screaming for help, the otter followed and continued to bite their legs and ankles. As they climbed onto a float of canoes they turned back and spotted the river otter staring at them with huge eyes and protruding, sharp teeth, reports Daily Mail.
The two girls were rescued by their grandfather, Bob Schlecht Jr., and his friend Fred Palmer, who dragged the duo ashore.
"I could see she had blood streaming down her leg," said Clark's grandmother, Arlita Schlecht. "(It was like) a scene out of 'Jaws.'"
"I've been here 60-some years and never seen anything like it," said Fred Palmer 'And there's always kids out there swimming in the summer."
A fish biologist, who was called by Palmer, believes that the young teens could have accidentally come in between the otter and her babies.
Clark received several bite marks and scratches on her leg and was given a tetanus shot and plans to return to swimming once her cuts are healed.
Similarly, last year, a 27-year-old Franklin man was attacked by a river otter and he sustained several bites and scratches on his legs.
According to Craig Bartlett, spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, around this time of year several animals have newborns, hence, they are protective and aggressive. The appearance of river otters around this time of year is not uncommon. But what is definitely unusual is a river otter attack.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone