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A man in Florida was bitten 41 times by a rabid otter in a rare, frenzied attack

Kenneth Niemeyer   

A man in Florida was bitten 41 times by a rabid otter in a rare, frenzied attack
  • An otter in Florida viciously attacked a man, biting him 41 times.
  • The otter later attacked a couple walking with their baby.

An otter viciously attacked a Florida man while he was feeding ducks in a pond near his house.

Joseph Scaglione said he went to feed the birds that typically gather at the gate surrounding his Jupiter, Florida home on September 23, but they all suddenly flew away when he approached, according to WPBF, a local ABC affiliate.

"Looked up, no hawk, look back down, and there was a brown head sticking up over the bank of the pond. And at first, I didn't know it was an otter, but then I realized that's an otter," Scaglione said.

The otter pounced on Saclione as he went to close the gate, biting him 41 times on his legs and arms, WPBF reported.

"My pinky is the worst. I have two puncture wounds. I'm not sure if it goes right through or whatever," Saclione told the outlet.

After Saclione escaped from the otter, it attacked a couple walking with their baby and dog before being captured in a recycling bin, the outlet reported.

The Florida Department of Health said in a news release that the otter tested positive for rabies.

Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control told WPBF that this is the first case of an otter with rabies in the county since 2010.



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