‘It bit me:’ Otter injures woman near popular Triangle trail. What we know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A woman said an otter bit her near the American Tobacco Trail.
- Durham County Animal Services followed up about possible rabies exposure.
- River otters live across North Carolina, but attacks are rare.
An otter attacked a North Carolina woman while she cheered on her friends at a local marathon, she said.
Erin Hogston was standing near the American Tobacco Trail in Durham when she suddenly heard a rustling sound, she said in a Facebook video posted Sunday, March 15.
“At first I was like ‘this is a bear,’” Hogston told WECT. “It sounded huge, I was like ‘oh God, I need to get away.’”
Hogston started running and realized the creature was an otter. The animal bit her in the leg, sending her to the emergency room, according to the TV station.
“It bit me on my ankle, and it broke the skin too, so I gotta go get rabies shots. But who gets bit by an otter and on a Sunday during a marathon? And, because I knew nobody would believe me, thank God I got the video of this thing,” Hogston said in her video, which included a roughly 5-second clip of the creature scurrying across a path.
See it for yourself (warning, some language may be offensive to viewers):
Hogston, who lives in Wilmington, said she experienced the wild encounter on March 15 during the Tobacco Road Marathon. Much of the race takes place along the American Tobacco Trail, which stretches through parts of Chatham, Durham and Wake counties, according to websites for the sporting event and Triangle Rails to Trails Conservancy.
Hogston reportedly said she was attacked in Cary, but the town directed The News & Observer to the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said an otter reportedly hurt someone near Herndon Park in Durham, a gateway to the 22-mile American Tobacco Trail. But they wouldn’t share details about the person’s treatment with The N&O due to health privacy concerns.
“It was reported to us that a person sought treatment for an injury by an otter,” the sheriff’s office told The N&O in a March 20 email. “Our Animal Services division has followed up with the person involved regarding possible rabies exposure.”
How common are otter attacks in NC?
The American river otter can be found living across North Carolina. Their habitats range from “warm, slow-moving coastal streams and marshes to cold and rapidly moving mountain streams,” according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
“Due to their curious nature and their near-sightedness, it is not uncommon for otters to approach a boat or a person on shore,” the commission wrote on its website.
But the Durham County Sheriff’s Office said workers in its Animal Services department can’t remember any past otter interactions.
“Otters, as a general rule, are not aggressive around humans,” Falyn Owens, biologist with the commission, told the TV station. “Most people enjoy having them around, so a situation like this is extremely unusual.”
Hogston didn’t respond to The N&O’s request for comment on March 20. The commission didn’t immediately share additional information.
