17-year-old Gwyn Ewert
We don't often hear about aggressive river otters, but by fighting its way inside a home in South Lakeland, experts said this otter was definitely not acting normal.
"My husband's like, 'Case, you just alligator wrangled an otter in the living room!'" said Casina Ewert, the victim's mother.
The otter learned that you don't mess with a mother's instincts.
"I think life is full of surprises, and you should just be ready for whatever," said Casina.
This wild story started after 17-year-old Gwyn Ewert let their dog, Scooter, out before dawn Tuesday morning. It didn't take long for Scooter to find an enemy.
"I sprinted to the backdoor, and I was like, 'Scooter!'" said Gwyn. "All I saw was like a big black ball just all over the place, so he stumbled in the door, and I tried to shut it as fast as possible, but then the otter got stuck."
By this time, the whole house was awake, and Gwyn's mother rushed in.
"He and the dog are in a big tangled tumbleweed, spinning around in here," said Casina.
Then mom handled business.
"I grabbed it. This is the chair. I walked by this chair, and I was like, 'Somebody open the door!' Screaming with it," said Casina, "and it grabbed on it, and it was like pulling the chair back, and he was like, 'Eeek!'"
Casina tossed the otter outside and discovered that it had bitten her daughter.
"After the fact, I had lifted up my pant leg," said Gwyn. "My leg was shaking, and there was drips of blood all over the floor."
Several rabies shots later, Gwyn and Scooter are now on the mend.
Now, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is trying to find the otter. A neighbor took a video of an otter in the area later that day.
"I hope he comes up right here in front of me," said the owner of All Creatures Wildlife Control Dustin Hooper.
Hooper took a look around for the otter.
"If it happens, just hold my sunglasses," said Hooper.
He said he's never seen an otter act like this.
"Any time an otter's on shore going for a human, there's something not right," said Hooper. "Usually they see you, they're gone."
The otter still hasn't been caught. the FWC set up traps to catch the animal.
The agency said they received reports of an aggressive otter attacking another dog as well.
Reader Comments
I guess I'd worry more about rabies than the adjutants in the vaccine shots - it's the young kids getting triple cubed injections of their adjudtants which are doing the killing and the autism.
RC
Wild weather has thousands of Brits set to either lose or gain a trampoline
You may find yourself with one more or one fewer trampolines today, according to the met office. With winds gusting up to 60mph, the bouncy background apparatus - which is basically a giant sail...RC
Once the otter hit the lake, the dog was barking at it and the otter was barking back saying, "Hop in the water, Bitch! We'll see who wins this!"
RC
Otters are fearless and their game is their game. You should see me with a T-Bone
RC
*Yeah, right. And tiger cubs are adorable too.
RC
RC i gave the 'tumbleweed' comment a Take II myself. Strange.
The only I had ever heard of Tumbleweed was this fav of my Dad's.
[Link]
I heard that song soooo often
Yes razor sharp they ll never pick a fight but they certainly wont back off of one either. 8 or august born are 'otter' people, sexy playful n just about always on the move
RC
* The RC-esque Tasmanian Devil? Although I still receive comparisons to the cartoon, though not as commonly as in my youth; No.
** If you wish to meet RC as a small child, read O. Henry's The Ransom of Red Chief . [Link] (I surprisingly just read that for the first time the other night.)
RC
(Actually, some scumbag did try to effectively 'kidnap' a friend and I when we were 10? He claimed to be a 'Green Beret' back from 'The 'Nam' but even then, we saw through it, and even then, described him (out of earshot) as an REMF. He sincerely regretted trying to f* with us! No sh*t! See the AB)
Read that short story. You'll get a true idea of yours truly as a kid. Direct link to that story alone: [Link]
RC
Bill and me figured that Ebenezer would melt down for a ransom of two thousand dollars to a cent. But wait till I tell you.
About two miles from Summit was a little mountain, covered with a dense cedar brake. On the rear elevation of this mountain was a cave. There we stored provisions. One evening after sundown, we drove in a buggy past old Dorset's house. The kid was in the street, throwing rocks at a kitten on the opposite fence.
"Hey, little boy!" says Bill, "would you like to have a bag of candy and a nice ride?" The boy catches Bill neatly in the eye with a piece of brick.
R.C.
RC
12.12 is a grace of god.