Posted on 09/27/2021 1:20:51 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) urges Anchorage residents to be alert around local lakes and rivers, where a group of river otters recently attacked people and their pets.
On September 1, a child was chased and bitten by a group of four river otters near Dowling and Lake Otis. This week another woman was bitten while rescuing her dog from a similar group of river otters at University Lake. A second report of an otter attacking a dog was received on the same day from a different area of the lake. River otter attacks in Anchorage, while rare, have been reported over the last several years. River otter groups are typically comprised of either a mother with young, or associated bachelor males. The group composition of river otters responsible for the recent attacks is unknown.
River otters may travel long distances over land or by utilizing interconnected waterways, and it is possible that the same group of river otters were responsible for the attacks at both locations. River otters have not been reported at the site of the September 1 incident since that time.
Because of the risk to public safety, efforts will be made to locate this group of river otters and remove them. Care will be taken to only remove the animals exhibiting these unusual behaviors. Due to their aggressive behavior toward people and pets, it is likely they would continue those actions in any new environment, making relocation problematic as it would simply move the dangerous behavior to another location.
Protecting the public by minimizing dangerous human-wildlife interactions is a priority for ADF&G. River otters are present in many areas of the Anchorage Municipality and removal of this group of river otters will not remove the entire population from the area. Any animals lethally removed will be tested for rabies due to their unusually aggressive behavior. There has not been a reported case of rabies in river otters in southcentral Alaska in recent years, however the possibility of disease concern remains.
All river otter sightings in Anchorage, or any wildlife behaving aggressively toward humans, should be reported to the nearest ADF&G office during regular business hours, or by filing a report online at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov and clicking the "Report a Wildlife Encounter" button. For immediate public safety concerns, please call 9-1-1
When Otters go bad....
Shocked! Climate change not mentioned once!
RE: clicking the “Report a Wildlife Encounter” button.
Must have been a glitch. When people clicked it there were stories of dates with women from strip clubs. Different wildlife.
Will this break the psychological back of America?
Covid, lockdowns, election fraud battles, jab fears, vax proof wars and now.....aggressive river otters.
People can take only so much.
You otter not go in the water...
This makes me want to blow my brains out....https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3998569/posts
I recall catching part of that Steve Irwin zoo show, he said something like all the zoo keepers would rather deal with the giant crocs than go into the otter enclosure.
Freegards
Aggressive river otters, now that's going too far!
The sleeping giant awakes...
1) don’t do it. Keep it loaded but preserve yourself and your brains. We need both here.
2) I already replied to the King Gavin proclamation on other thread. An outrage.
It Otter...
What’s next a SHARKNADO?
That endangered brave Jimmy Carter saved his life by a hare.
otter madness...
Aggressive otters...beavers attacking...dogs sleeping with cats!
It’s the apocalypse!
https://www.fieldandstream.com/survival/massachusetts-beaver-attack/
People are getting too close to the otters’ homes and offspring.
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