BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - A Florida kayaker is recovering after being attacked by an aggressive otter.
Sue Spector was kayaking with her husband down Braden River when the animal leaped onto the kayak and lunged at her last weekend.
The Tampa Bay Times reports the kayak flipped as the 77-year-old, her husband and witnesses tried to help. She tried to fight him off with her paddle but he persisted.
The couple then climbed on their guide's kayak. The otter followed but didn't attack again.
But it did scratch through two layers of clothes on a witness who tried to fight the animal off Spector.
Spector suffered injuries to her arm, nose and ear and had to see an infectious disease doctor, Tampa Bay Times reports. The guide told Inside Edition the otter, "did serious damage to her nose," and "bit off a piece of her ear."
Officials say it's extremely rare for an otter to attack humans.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said four kayakers were injured in separate attacks recently on the same river.
Witnesses say the creature may have been hunted by an alligator.
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Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), http://www.tampabay.com; Inside Edition, http://www.insideedition.com
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