A woman was attacked by an otter who ripped off a part of her ear and ravaged her face, leaving her covered with cuts and blood.
Jen Royce, 37, was attacked by the creature in Montana’s Jefferson River whilst floating down the water in tube rings.
The mum was celebrating her birthday with two friends when the “vicious and relentless” beast sprang into attack.
The otter first launched itself at her friend, before turning its attention on her.
She wrote on Facebook: “I didn't even have a chance to get the words 'there is an otter behind you,' out of me before it attacked her.”
The ordeal lasted for around five minutes, where Royce was bitten on her face, arms, ears, hands, legs and ankle.
She tried all that she could to get away but struggled, as they were floating in the middle of the river, unable to touch the bottom with their feet.
Jen added: "We were helpless. I tried to kick it away, but I would just get attacked somewhere else.
"I tried to hold it back at one point by grabbing its arm to hold it away while trying to swim closer to shore."
The three friends eventually managed to escape the vicious beast by swimming to different areas on the shore.
“Without ANY exaggeration, God’s honest truth, I did not think I was going to make it out of that river,” Royce wrote, “I had no clue my friends were going to make it out. But by the grace of God we did.”
The trio had one phone between them and were only able to contact emergency services using SOS mode.
However, because the part of the river they were in was so remote, it was difficult to locate them.
“I was covered in blood and it just kept pouring out of my face and nose. It was cold. We were wet. It was dark,” Royce said.
An hour later, they could see red and blue flashing lights nearby, however they were too far away to make contact.
One of the friends decided to leave the other two to try and flag down the emergency services.
Royce was terrified she might not survive the attack, as her wounds seemed very serious. She told her remaining friend to watch over her kids if she passed.
Luckily the emergency services eventually found the pair, and they were raced to hospital.
Royce had to undergo facial surgery following the attack on August 2.
A week later, she posted on Facebook to say that she has returned home and her wounds were healing well.
A GoFundMe has ben set up to help cover her medical costs.
Otters, like any other wild animal, can turn hostile if confronted or they feel threatened.
The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks government agency said: “While attacks from otters are rare, otters can be protective of themselves and their young, especially at close distances.”
“They give birth to their young in April and can later be seen with their young in the water during the summer. They may also be protective of food resources, especially when those resources are scarce.”
from GB News https://ift.tt/SnJ2yAQ
A woman was attacked by an otter who ripped off a part of her ear and ravaged her face, leaving her covered with cuts and blood.
Jen Royce, 37, was attacked by the creature in Montana’s Jefferson River whilst floating down the water in tube rings.
The mum was celebrating her birthday with two friends when the “vicious and relentless” beast sprang into attack.
The otter first launched itself at her friend, before turning its attention on her.
She wrote on Facebook: “I didn't even have a chance to get the words 'there is an otter behind you,' out of me before it attacked her.”
The ordeal lasted for around five minutes, where Royce was bitten on her face, arms, ears, hands, legs and ankle.
She tried all that she could to get away but struggled, as they were floating in the middle of the river, unable to touch the bottom with their feet.
Jen added: "We were helpless. I tried to kick it away, but I would just get attacked somewhere else.
"I tried to hold it back at one point by grabbing its arm to hold it away while trying to swim closer to shore."
The three friends eventually managed to escape the vicious beast by swimming to different areas on the shore.
“Without ANY exaggeration, God’s honest truth, I did not think I was going to make it out of that river,” Royce wrote, “I had no clue my friends were going to make it out. But by the grace of God we did.”
The trio had one phone between them and were only able to contact emergency services using SOS mode.
However, because the part of the river they were in was so remote, it was difficult to locate them.
“I was covered in blood and it just kept pouring out of my face and nose. It was cold. We were wet. It was dark,” Royce said.
An hour later, they could see red and blue flashing lights nearby, however they were too far away to make contact.
One of the friends decided to leave the other two to try and flag down the emergency services.
Royce was terrified she might not survive the attack, as her wounds seemed very serious. She told her remaining friend to watch over her kids if she passed.
Luckily the emergency services eventually found the pair, and they were raced to hospital.
Royce had to undergo facial surgery following the attack on August 2.
A week later, she posted on Facebook to say that she has returned home and her wounds were healing well.
A GoFundMe has ben set up to help cover her medical costs.
Otters, like any other wild animal, can turn hostile if confronted or they feel threatened.
The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks government agency said: “While attacks from otters are rare, otters can be protective of themselves and their young, especially at close distances.”
“They give birth to their young in April and can later be seen with their young in the water during the summer. They may also be protective of food resources, especially when those resources are scarce.”
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