Lake Tahoe swim teacher Lynnette Bellin recounts uncommon river otter assault, receiving 38 stitches

LAKA TAHOE, Calif. — A swimmer is recovering after what’s believed to be a river otter, attacked her throughout a swim in Lake Tahoe on Sunday.

The assault left her with dozens of stitches and accidents to her face, legs and arms.

Lynnette Bellin, a licensed Infant Swimming Resource teacher who teaches self rescue classes, mentioned she was on her weekly swim within the lake when the encounter occurred.

She mentioned she had been attempting to get again to show a self-rescue lesson when the animal attacked.

“It ripped the goggles off my face. It got me on the temple, on my cheek, my nose. You can kind of see claw marks there, full on bite marks on this arm. But my foot is the worst because it has 22 stitches,” Bellin mentioned whereas displaying the accidents.

Bellin mentioned she posted movies to social media instantly afterward displaying blood on her physique.

She described the animal pulling her underwater earlier than she realized it was an otter.

“And right before I got there and I got grabbed by the lake, yanked under water. It was so powerful it felt like a human. That’s when I saw the otter and it just did not hesitate. It started coming after me. It was teeth and claws and I was pushing it away,” Bellin describing what she says went on for about 5 minutes.

She mentioned she finally escaped by counting on her swim coaching and climbing onto a rock. Bellin then recorded video whereas strolling about three-quarters of a mile to Hidden Beach. People who noticed her alongside the way in which contacted authorities. Bellin mentioned officers responding to the incident had been stunned by her account.

“Every single authority that was coming to do a report on this was like, we’ve never had an otter attack. are you sure it was an otter. Sure looks like what I was fighting off,” she mentioned.

In an announcement, the Nevada Department of Wildlife mentioned, “River otters are native predators and are found in Lake Tahoe and its surrounding waterways. While attacks on people are uncommon, otters are wild animals and can become aggressive if they feel threatened, cornered or are defending young.”

Bellin mentioned she believes the encounter occurred as a result of she was swimming near shore to keep away from boat site visitors and that the otter might have been defending its younger.

“I think the most disconcerting thing is that lake Tahoe is always my sanctuary, my peace. I go there to get mental calm and just to regulate myself. I have 38 stitches right now. I can’t swim until those are all healed up. But September is a great time to be swimming in the lake so I’m sure I’ll find myself in there eventually,” Bellin mentioned.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife mentioned it’s working with Nevada State Parks to put up indicators within the space alerting guests to the reported incident and reminding the general public to pay attention to their environment and provides wildlife loads of house.