By Tim Binnall
A series of strange river otter attacks in Alaska have left authorities scratching their heads and warning the public that encountering the normally nonthreatening creatures could be dangerous. The weird spate of incidents began unfolding around the city of Anchorage at the start of the month when a nine-year-old boy was chased down by four of the animals and ultimately bitten when one of them caught up to him. It would seem that this was not an isolated event as, a few weeks later, a woman was similarly attacked by an ornery otter as was a dog. Since such cases are fairly rare, city officials were understandably concerned about the three attacks happening in such quick succession and, as such, alerted the public to the problem.
In a bulletin issued by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, they theorized that this may not be a widespread issue and, instead, "it is possible that the same group of river otters were responsible for the attacks at both locations." This proverbial roaming gang of pugnacious creatures, they said, "may travel long distances over land or by utilizing interconnected waterways." As such, the department pledged to track down this particular group of otters that have suddenly turned aggressive. As for why the disposition of the creatures has taken such a dark turn, that will likely remain uncertain until one of the animals is in custody.
While the cause of the curious attacks would seem to suggest that the animals have rabies, the department noted that there have been no reports of river otters stricken with the sickness in recent years. That said, they did indicate that they will test the creatures should they manage to capture one of them. Regardless of whether or not the river otters have rabies, it would appear that their fate is sealed as officials expressed skepticism about simply relocating the animals because, they believe, this would "simply move the dangerous behavior to another location." Be that as it may, for now Anchorage residents are advised to be on guard when visiting any rivers or lakes, lest they become the next victim of the aggressive river otter gang.