Woman needed dozens of stitches after being attacked by otter while swimming in Lake Tahoe

Lynnette Bellin said she was swimming near Hidden Beach in Incline Village when she felt something suddenly grab her leg and pull her underwater.

Brady Halbleib, KOVR via CNN Newsource
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A woman in Nevada says a routine morning swim in Lake Tahoe turned into a frightening encounter when an otter attacked her underwater.

Lynnette Bellin said she was swimming near Hidden Beach in Incline Village when she felt something suddenly grab her leg and pull her underwater.

"And it was so powerful I thought it was a human," Bellin added.

The attack happened around 8 a.m. as Bellin was swimming in an area she regularly visits.

"I turned around, and I saw this otter, and it immediately started lunging at me and biting and scratching," Bellin said.

Bellin fought back with her hands and feet while trying to reach a nearby set of rocks.

"It was very painful," she said. "Yeah, it was just ruthless. It just kept coming after me."

The first rocks Bellin reached were too slippery for her to climb onto. She yelled for help, but no one responded. She eventually made it to another set of rocks and was able to pull herself out of the water.

But the otter remained nearby.

"Once I got out and he stopped pursuing me, he kept circling the area," Bellin said. "I could hear his heavy breathing. It was very menacing."

She eventually made her way back to the beach, where first responders treated her before she was taken to the hospital.

Bellin received nearly 40 stitches and began a series of rabies vaccinations.

Experts say otter attacks are extremely rare. Megan Isadore, executive director of the River Otter Ecology Project, said encounters between people and river otters hardly ever become violent.

"We don't always expect an attack when it happens," Isadore said.

She said one possible explanation is that Bellin may have unknowingly gotten too close to a mother otter and her young.

"They don't know what we're doing. They don't know why we're there," Isadore said. "They can be frightened of us. They're usually not after us."

Bellin said she doesn't blame the otter for what happened, but the experience has made her reconsider where she swims.

"It's very disconcerting, but also I love Tahoe too much," she said.

Bellin is an infant swim instructor and often uses a small otter toy while teaching children. After the attack, she said she may be ready to retire the toy from her classes.