The common North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) is normally a pretty inoffensive beast. They stick to the water, feeding mostly on fish, crayfish, frogs, and other small creatures. They are seemingly good-natured animals, known for making mudslides on riverbanks to toboggan their long, furry bodies into the water, repeating the slide over and over.
So it’s otterly surprising when one attacks a (human) mother and child walking on a Washington marina.
A mother and her young child were attacked by a river otter while walking on a dock at a marina in Washington state on Thursday, wildlife officials said.
The child was pulled off the dock by the otter and briefly dragged underwater during the incident, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The rare attack occurred Thursday morning at a marina in Bremerton, located on the Puget Sound across from Seattle,…
