Abstract Presentations at the 2005 Wilderness Medical Society Meeting, Snowmass,
Colorado, July 23 to 27, 2005
Poster Presentation
Human North American Otter (Lontra canadensis) Attack: Case report and review
of the literature
Tiffany M. Potter, BS
1
, Jill A. Hanna, MD
2
, Luanne Freer, MD
3
1
Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, 205 Prospect St. New Haven, CT
06511.
2
Plumas District Hospital, 1065 Bucks Lake Road, Quincy, CA
3
Medcor at Yellowstone, Yellowstone NP, WY 82190 and Bozeman, MT
Due to successful restoration and conservation programs deployed by state and federal
agencies, populations of North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) are increasing in
many states. Recreational activities such as swimming, boating and fishing increase the
likelihood of human interactions with this charismatic, nonendangered mustelid. Otters
tend to avoid areas of high human activity, maintain low population densities, and, in
some habitats in the U.S., have not recovered from population declines. Therefore,
interactions with human are uncommon and aggressive encounters by otters are even less
frequent. A recent aggressive and unprovoked attack, however, required immediate
medical treatment, including post-exposure rabies prophylaxis, extensive suturing, and
subsequent reconstructive surgery. Little is known about the prevalence of diseases in
wild otter populations and even less has been published on otter attacks on humans.
