River Otter Attacks Child in Washington: A Harrowing Encounter

In a star­tling inci­dent at Bre­mer­ton Mari­na, Kit­sap Coun­ty, Wash­ing­ton, a riv­er otter attacked and dragged a child underwater.

The Wash­ing­ton Depart­ment of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) report­ed that the event occurred on Sep­tem­ber 12 at approx­i­mate­ly 9:30 a.m., send­ing shock­waves through the local com­mu­ni­ty and rais­ing con­cerns about wildlife interactions.

The Attack: A Mother’s Quick Action Saves Child

The vic­tim’s moth­er recount­ed the ter­ri­fy­ing moment when a riv­er otter sud­den­ly pulled her young child into the water from the mari­na dock. 

The otter briefly sub­merged the child before the quick-think­ing moth­er man­aged to res­cue her off­spring. Dur­ing the res­cue, the aggres­sive otter con­tin­ued its assault, bit­ing the moth­er’s arm and pur­su­ing the fam­i­ly as they fled the scene.

The child sus­tained scratch­es and bites on their head, face, and legs, while the moth­er suf­fered arm injuries. Both received treat­ment at a hos­pi­tal in Sil­verdale, Wash­ing­ton. WDFW Sergeant Ken Bal­azs praised the moth­er’s swift response and the child’s resilience in the face of danger.

River Otter Behavior and Safety Precautions

Riv­er otters, despite their cute appear­ance, are wild ani­mals with pow­er­ful bites and strong teeth. The U.S. Depart­ment of the Inte­ri­or advis­es main­tain­ing a dis­tance of at least 60 feet from otters, whether on land or in water. 

While otter attacks on humans are rare, the WDFW has doc­u­ment­ed six human-riv­er otter inci­dents in Wash­ing­ton over the past decade.

Recent Otter Attacks in the United States

The Wash­ing­ton inci­dent is not iso­lat­ed. Cal­i­for­nia has seen a surge in otter attacks in 2023:

1. “Suc­ces­sion” actor Crys­tal Finn was bit­ten by otters while swim­ming in a Cal­i­for­nia riv­er in July 2023.
2. Matt Lef­fers suf­fered severe leg injuries after an otter attack in a Cal­i­for­nia lake in Sep­tem­ber 2023.

These inci­dents high­light the impor­tance of wildlife aware­ness and safe­ty pre­cau­tions when enjoy­ing out­door activities.

WDFW Response and Ongoing Investigation

Fol­low­ing the Bre­mer­ton Mari­na attack, author­i­ties trapped one riv­er otter at the scene. The ani­mal was sent to the Wash­ing­ton Ani­mal Dis­ease Diag­nos­tic Lab for rabies testing.

The WDFW con­tin­ues to mon­i­tor the sit­u­a­tion and empha­sizes the impor­tance of respect­ing wildlife and main­tain­ing safe distances.