‘Felt something grab me by my leg’: Woman attacked by otter while swimming at Lake Tahoe
A Reno woman was attacked by an otter while swimming near Hidden Beach at Lake Tahoe, leaving her with injuries that required 38 stitches and rabies shots
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. —
A Reno woman was attacked by an otter while swimming near Hidden Beach on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe on Sunday morning.
Lynnette Bellin, a swim instructor who regularly visits the lake, said she has been swimming in Tahoe’s waters for more than two decades.
“I try to get up there once or twice a week. It’s my absolute favorite thing to do in the area,” Bellin said. “I find it so peaceful and refreshing and just kind of meditative.”
However, her swim on Sunday morning was far from peaceful.
“I just felt something grab me by my leg and pull me under. And it was so powerful. It felt like it was a human,” Bellin said.
When she turned around, she realized it was an otter.
“This otter just started coming after me, teeth and claws, and, you know, my only thought was like, I got to get away from this. But it kept following me,” she said. “I tried to swim away from it at one point, and it was just attacking my feet.”
Bellin said she fought off the otter in the water, then climbed out onto the rocks, where it followed her and kept attacking. She said it felt like the attack lasted five minutes.
“The attack just kept getting more and more aggressive,” she said. “It was just nothing I’d ever been coached for. Like, what do you do?”
The otter eventually left her alone, but not before leaving her with scratches and bite marks all over her body.
“When I got out, like 10 feet up the rock, he was just circling the water. I could just hear him breathing heavy, and that’s when I was like, there’s no way I’m getting him back in there, you know?” she said.
Covered in blood, Bellin said she continued climbing up the rocks and onto the East Shore Bike Trail, where she walked back to the spot where she initially got in. She said first responders were waiting for her there. She believes someone she passed on the trail called them for her.
Bellin went to the emergency room where she got 38 stitches and rabies shots as a result of the attack.
The Nevada Department of Wildlife said otter attacks are rare, as the animals generally avoid humans. However, they can attack if they feel stressed or threatened.
“It’s very rare for us to see something like this,” said Kenzie Margiott, spokesperson for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. “The North American river otters are in the entire Tahoe basin in the Truckee River, all the way down to Pyramid Lake and all the connecting waterways. Their population has been increasing for the last 15 years. So, we are seeing more in the area.”
Bellin said this was her first time seeing an otter in Lake Tahoe.
“The only thing I’ve seen in over 20 years of swimming there is minnows and maybe crawdads,” she said.
While it may take some time before she feels comfortable swimming in the lake again, Bellin said she hopes to return, though likely in a different location.
“It is my favorite place, my favorite activity. I think it’s probably going to influence where I choose to swim,” she said.
The Nevada Department of Wildlife advises people to give otters space and leave the area if they encounter one in the water.
