Lynnette Bellin said in a video showing the aftermath of the attack that she had been swimming in Lake Tahoe for 25 years and didn’t even know there were otters there.She found out there were about 30 minutes into a swim Sunday.Aerial view of the turquoise lake swirling around smooth gray rocks at Sand Harbour Beach, Lake Tahoe.
(Getty Images)CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICK OUTDOORSThis particular route she was on when she encountered the otter is one that she's been swimming every Sunday since July, reports the Reno Gazette Journal."At first I thought it was a person pulling on me because it was so strong," Bellin told the outlet on Monday."I haven't seen anyone else out there swimming, so I wasn't sure.
And then I felt the teeth and claws, and it was relentless."She says the harder she fought the otter, the more aggressive it became towards her.While fighting it off, she picked it up and tried to throw it.
It responded by biting and clawing her hands and face.Stock image of an otter in water.(Getty Images)14 TAILGATING ESSENTIALS FOR GRILLING, WATCHING THE GAME AND STAYING WARM"I'm screaming as it's happening, but there are people on the bike trail and no one can hear me," she said.
"Eventually I got to some rocks, but they were slippery, and as I tried to get up, the otter was coming up, too."Bellin was finally able to get away from the angry otter by climbing up on a bigger rock.The otter circled the area nearby, and she was forced to climb over a fence to a bike trail where she walked back to where she had started her swim barefoot and covered in blood.Stock image of a woman out for a swim.
(Getty Images/iStockphoto)VETERAN LIFEGUARD, 71, DRAGGED UNDERWATER OFF THE COAST OF MAINE BY GREAT WHITE SHARKPolice, firefighters and an ambulance met her.She would later drive herself to the emergency room where she received 38 stitches and rabies shots."Swimming in Lake Tahoe is my absolute favorite thing to do.
It is my peace and my sanctuary.I feel l...