'Didn't think I'd make it out!' Woman battles for survival after 'vicious' otter attack
The woman was spending a fun day out with her friends when all three became the victim of the "relentless" mammal.
A woman admitted to fearing she would "not make it out of the river" after she was attacked by a "vicious" otter while out with two friends.
Jen Royce was inner tubing down the Jefferson River in Montana when she suddenly spotted an otter appearing out of nowhere from behind one of her friends.
Sharing her ordeal on Facebook, Royce said she barely had any time to raise the alarm when the mammal started attacking.
She said: "I didn’t even get a chance to get the words, ‘There is an otter behind you,’ out of me before it attacked her."
The woman tried to push off the otter from her friends by kicking it but the animal only attacked her harder, biting her face, arms, ears, hands and arms in the process.
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The women ultimately managed to escape the brutal mammal by separately swimming ashore but Royce admitted to fearing for their lives as she did not immediately see her friends making it back to land.
She continued: "Without ANY exaggeration, God’s honest truth, I did not think I was going to make it out of that river.
"I had no clue if my friends were going to make it out. But by the grace of God, we did.”
The trio only had one phone available to contact 911 and it took emergency services some time to locate them because the attack took place in a remote area.
Royce said she ended up "covered in blood" and struggled to see because of the darkness and the blood pouring "out off my face and nose."
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After spotting the red and blue lights of emergency services in the area, one of the women split from the group and ran two miles to guide the rescue team to her friends.
Royce said the blood loss had by then left her "extremely faint" and told her friend to look after her children fearing she wouldn't make it.
When the rescuers finally reached her, she was overcome by the relief.
She said: "I cannot explain how seeing those lights felt. I was hopeful again. They found us. THEY FOUND US. We weren’t alone anymore."
Royce was transported to the hospital via helicopter while her friends were treated at the scene and later taken to the hospital as well.
All three were dosed with multiple doses of anti-rabies vaccine before being released.
Royce said she felt "lucky" for surviving the ordeal but was left with multiple stitches and had to undergo surgery to her face and ears.
The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks later posted signs warning visitors to beware of otter activity in the area.
The notice read: "While attacks from otters are rare, otters can be protective of themselves and their young, especially at close distances.
"They give birth to their young in April and can later be seen with their young in the water during the summer.
"They may also be protective of food resources, especially when those resources are scarce.”