Texas: Officials trying to figure out how river otter got down to the freeway

TEXAS -- A Brazoria woman just driving down Highway 36 near Freeport when she says she noticed something in the road, did a double take and turned her car around and stopped, finding a river otter.

"I thought it was a seal and I said they don't have seals around here," Kristy Fagan said.

The animal is usually very shy. Wildlife experts say seeing a river otter is rare around Texas.

"I was like, that is an otter, okay. So I started taking a picture, but before I could take a picture, I saw it go, 'ahhh'. It was laying on its back."

The otter was hit by a car and struggling. Fagan tried to save it. She said it was breathing. Fagan used the mat from her car and carried the otter from near the Brazos River to safety. Then, she called Gulf Coast Wildlife Rescue for help.

"When I saw it was still breathing, that's when I was hoping that maybe just maybe it will just be unconscious and maybe I can save it."

Fagan's husband says she is filled with compassion for all animals and will never look away.

"She's always stopping to help animals, anything she can do to help anyone that's what she's always done," Michael Fagan said.

Within hours, the otter died from its injuries. Wildlife Rescuers told her the otter will be preserved for a local museum. Fagan says she treats animals like her own children.

"The fact when you can't have kids, it makes you even more attached to animals because you always want to take care of that something."

(ABC13 - January 13, 2017)

Girl attacked by otter while swimming in Wisconsin lake

MINNESOTA -- A 12-year-old Minneapolis girl is recovering from scratches, bruises and bite marks she got in an attack by an otter while swimming in a western Wisconsin lake on Saturday, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Rory Kliewer had been swimming with some friends in Bone Lake near Luck, Wisconsin, when she started climbing a ladder onto a dock. She was part way out of the water when she felt something biting her legs and backside.

At first she thought it was a northern pike that was biting her, but soon realized it was an otter. The animal had climbed onto her back and was biting and clawing her head and face, according to the Minnesota Sporting Journal.

 

She managed to climb the rest of the way onto the dock and free herself from the otter. But the animal jumped onto the dock and chased the girl all the way to shore.

Rory says she’s had some experience running track, which was a good thing. “I never ran so fast in my life,” she told the Journal.

Her friend’s mother and the family dog tried to scare the otter away, but the animal stood its ground, snarling and hissing at them. Her friend’s father, Pat Hinschberger, who owns the cabin, then rushed over and the group finally was able to shoo the otter back to the water.  Hinschberger estimated the otter was about 3-1/2 feet long and weighed about 40 pounds.

Rory was taken to a nearby hospital where she was treated for her injuries and released. The emergency room physician said it was the first time he’d ever treated a patient who’d been hurt in an otter attack, according to the Journal. Rory is getting a series of rabies shots as a precaution.

Rory was wearing swimming goggles and a life jacket at the time, which most likely protected her from more serious injuries, she said.

It’s not clear why the otter attacked Rory. She and her friends said they hadn’t seen any of them earlier when they were swimming. Hinschberger speculated that perhaps the animal was protecting its young, according to the Pioneer Press.

Otters are generally not dangerous, WCCO reports, but there are occasional reports of otter attacks.

Just a few weeks ago, a woman and her 8-year-old grandson were attacked and severely injured by an otter while swimming in a river in Washington, according to KOMO News in Seattle. And two years ago, two Minnesota women were attacked by otters in separate incidents, according to WCCO.

Rory Kliewer told the Pioneer Press she still feels “pretty shaky” after the attack.

This was her first trip to Bone Lake, and she said she’s not interested in returning for a while.

“I’m pretty positive I’ll get back to swimming in pools, but I don’t ever know if I’ll ever get back to swimming in lakes,” she told the Pioneer Press.

(BringMeTheNews.com - Aug 14, 2014)

New pictures of the Oregon Zoo's 6-week-old river otter pup, Ziggy

OREGON -- It's Zigzag by a landslide.

When the Oregon Zoo last week asked the public to vote on one of three pre-selected names for its 6-week-old river otter pup, about 50 percent of more than 8,000 voters chose Zigzag – Ziggy for short – over Trask or Willamette.

 

The zoo prefers to name its river otters after Northwest waterways. The Zigzag River is a 12-mile tributary of the Sandy River. It flows down Mount Hood through Zigzag Canyon.

Plus, it's nearly as much fun to say as the little otter must be to watch, which from time to time is now possible, according to the zoo.

The pup, born Nov. 8, was tucked away in a maternity den with mother, Tilly – short for Tillamook – until recently. But now that he has opened his eyes and started to walk, he and his mom can sometimes be seen through a den window in the Cascade Stream and Pond exhibit.

"Young river otters are very dependent on their moms, and Tilly has been very nurturing," said Julie Christie, senior keeper for the zoo's North America area. "She did a great job with her first pup, Mo, earlier this year. She raised him up from this tiny, helpless creature into the sleek, agile, full-grown otter he is today. We're confident Tilly will be a great mom to her new pup as well."

Eventually, Tilly will teach Ziggy to swim; the skill doesn't come naturally to river otters.

A video of her teaching her first offspring to swim drew more than half a million views on the zoo's YouTube channel.

(Oregon Live - Dec 20, 2013)


Related Cuteness:
"Otter Gets Juice from a Vending Machine"

 

"Japanese Otter will help you with your vending machine purchases if you ever find yourself at the Tsukumi Dolphin Island in Japan. And his squeak alone is enough to make your day!"

 

  (YouTube video - Dec 23, 2013)