River otter attacks and drags child underwater in Washington state

A river otter attacked a young child on a dock in the Seattle area, dragging the child from the marina and briefly underwater, wildlife authorities said.

The child, who was rescued by their mother, suffered bites to the head, legs and face in Thursday’s attack at the Bremerton Marina in Kitsap County, Wash., the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

The otter continued to chase the family as they fled the dock, officials said. The child was treated at a hospital for the injuries sustained in the attack.

“We are grateful the victim only sustained minor injuries, due to the mother’s quick actions and child’s resiliency,” Fish and Wildlife Sergeant Ken Balazs said in the news release.

The agency didn’t respond to a request for comment on the age and gender of the child.

River otters are common in Washington state, and are found in both fresh and saltwater habitats. They rarely attack humans, with six recorded incidents in the past decade in the state, according to wildlife officials.

“Although encounters with river otters are rare, they can be territorial and, like any wildlife, are inherently unpredictable,” the state wildlife agency said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services trapped a river otter following the marina incident and took it for diagnostic testing, including for rabies - a disease that can make animals aggressive.

[From 2021: After river otter attacks in Anchorage, Fish and Game is hunting for culprits]

A rabid otter attacked a man and his dog in Florida last fall, biting the man dozens of times. Joseph Scaglione recounted in local media that the otter latched onto his right hand and would not let go for about five minutes.

“Succession” actor Crystal Finn was hospitalized after being bitten by otters while swimming in a river in northern California last July. A California man bitten by a pair of otters while swimming near Lake Tahoe in November described it as “by far the most terrifying experience I have ever had in my life.”

“These things were so aggressive that, literally, I felt like they wanted to kill me,” Matt Leffers, who had been swimming in the area for about 30 years, told local TV station  KCRA 3.

But not all otters leave such deep emotional and physical scars.

A southern sea otter known as Otter 841 became an internet sensation for stealing surfboards and upending kayaks last year, gaining a dedicated following among some locals as she evaded capture by authorities.

“we stan the ungovernable bb that is Otter 841,” one adoring fan wrote on X, The Washington Post reported previously.