Lake Tahoe river otter attack leaves swimmer bloodied and needing 38 stitches

A Lake Tahoe swimmer was attacked by a river otter Sunday, leaving her with multiple cuts and wounds that required 38 stitches.

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Lynnette Bellin of Reno, Nev., told The Sacramento Bee in a statement that she was taking a morning swim near Hidden Beach on the east side of Lake Tahoe when an otter grabbed her leg.

“I suddenly felt hands on my leg and was pulled underwater. It felt like a human was grabbing me, it was so strong. I turned around and that’s when I saw the otter, and it immediately started attacking me,” Bellin, a certified Infant Swimming Resource Self-Rescue instructor, said in a statement.

The river otter scratched Bellin’s legs as she tried to push it away in an attack she called “long and relentless.” The otter also scratched her face and injured her hands. After several attempts to escape, she was eventually able to get herself on a rock and climb onto some boulders away from it.

Bellin later climbed a fence to get to a bike path, walking three quarters of a mile to her car covered in blood. As she was walking, a passerby saw her and called the authorities. They met her at Hidden Beach and took her to a local emergency department for treatment, where she received 38 stitches and was given a series of rabies shots.

An Instagram video Bellin posted right after the incident recounting the attack has since gone viral, with over 3.3 million views and 74.6 thousand likes as of early Tuesday afternoon. The video shows Bellin in a hot pink swim cap and swim shirt holding her swim goggles covered in blood.

Nevada Department of Fish and Wildlife Spokesperson Kenzie Margiott told The Bee that authorities attempted to trap the river otter in Hidden Beach on Sunday afternoon but were unable to find it. The department is also working with Nevada State Parks on posting warning signs near Hidden Beach.

North American river otters can grow 3 to 4 feet long, including their tail, and weigh between 11 and 30 pounds, according to the National Wildlife Federation. They are native predators in the Tahoe Basin.

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Margiott said otters can become violent if they feel threatened or stressed, but noted that otter attacks on humans are uncommon.

The Aug. 30 attack is the second widely-reported incident of a river otter assaulting a swimmer in Lake Tahoe in recent weeks. Bob Daly of Stateline, Nev., told South Tahoe Now that he was attacked by an otter on Aug. 9. Daly said he was swimming from his boat to a designated swimming area on Pope Beach when an otter began chasing him. It attacked his legs for four to five minutes while he screamed for help and attempted to swim away.

“It was a cute little Disney moment,” Daly told South Tahoe Now. “Aw, ain’t that cute. It wasn’t cute for very long.”

Daly had eight bite and scratch marks and was also started on rabies treatment.

As for Bellin, she hopes her experience will show people the importance of swimming as a critical life skill.

“I encourage people to prioritize water competency in both adults, and giving children the opportunity to learn self-rescue at a young age so that swimming becomes second nature. Because I was a strong swimmer, I was able to concentrate on evading the otter attack and did not respirate water or go under from panic,” Bellin said.

She’ll have to stay out of water while her wounds heal, but she plans on swimming in the lake again when she’s on her feet.

“I look forward to getting back in the water with my swim students and will return to swimming in Lake Tahoe, because it truly is my favorite place in the world to swim,” Bellin said. “I will just choose a different route to swim and will stay far away from where I encountered the otter!”

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