A lady was swimming in Lake Tahoe. Then she ‘felt the tooth and claws’

A routine morning swim in Lake Tahoe turned violent for one lady following an otter assault in Reno, Nevada.

The otter attacked Lynnette Bellin on Sunday underwater whereas she swam close to Hidden Beach in Incline Village. The otter all of the sudden grabbed her leg and pulled her underwater, she advised the Reno Gazette Journal, a part of the USA Today Network.

As a consequence, Bellin was left with cuts throughout her face, arm and legs and required 22 stitches and a rabies vaccination.

“At first I thought it was a person pulling on me because it was so strong,” Bellin advised the Gazette Journal on Monday.

“I haven’t seen anyone else out there swimming, so I wasn’t sure,” she mentioned. “And then I felt the tooth and claws, and it was relentless.

She then rotated and noticed the otter, which was biting and scratching her. As the assault continued, Bellin tried to achieve a close-by set of rocks and even threw the otter.

Though she yelled for assist, nobody responded. Still, she managed to exit the water utilizing a set of rocks.

Once again on the seaside, Bellin noticed the otter circling the realm and drove herself to the hospital.

Photos of Bellin’s accidents taken after the incident confirmed Bellin with blood working down her face and left arm and hand. She’d been swimming within the space since July and is an expert swim teacher however has by no means skilled something like what occurred in Lake Tahoe.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, which responded to the incident, looked for the animal on Sunday however was unable to find it, the Nevada Department of Wildlife advised the Gazette Journal.

Otter assaults in 2026

The incident marks the second otter assault this summer time at Lake Tahoe.

Bob Daly was swimming at Pope Beach on Aug. 9 when an otter attacked him, leaving him with eight bloody chunk and scratch marks, based on South Tahoe Now.

There was additionally an otter assault in Anchorage, Alaska, KTUU reported final month.

What to find out about otters within the area

Lake Tahoe is dwelling to North American river otters.

The creatures are nocturnal however could also be lively within the early morning and later afternoon in distant areas, based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Populations are listed as steady or growing in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, per the company.

Otter assaults might be harmful however are uncommon for probably the most half. According to the Otter Specialist Group, which performed a evaluate of otter assaults in 2011, solely 39 assaults have been documented since 1875.

North American otters have been most probably to be concerned in assaults. The biggest variety of assaults have been documented in Florida.

Otter assaults have additionally been reported in British Columbia, California, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Michelle Del Rey is a trending information reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at mdelrey@usatoday.com.

This article initially appeared on USA TODAY: A lady was swimming in Lake Tahoe. Then she ‘felt the teeth and claws’

Reporting by Michelle Del Rey and Siobhan McAndrew, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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