Rabid otter mauls Venice walker, 96

By Kim Hackett

Published: Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 5, 2010 at 8:13 p.m.

SARASOTA COUNTY - A 96-year-old man was attacked by a three-foot rabid otter Friday as he took his daily pre-dawn stroll in the Venice East neighborhood.

Two good Samaritans tried for nearly six minutes to get the otter off the man, Morrell Denton, kicking and yelling at the animal while a 911 operator listened and tried to assist.

A Sarasota County sheriff's deputy finally shot the otter dead.

Denton suffered numerous cuts and bruises. One of his rescuers, Christopher Janssen, was also bitten by the otter.

"I kept trying to get him off me," Denton said of the rabid animal. "It's like nothing I've heard of."

Denton was just past the halfway mark of his walk, circling back in the dark along a wooded stretch of Venice East Boulevard near a lake, when he saw something dark emerge from the woods.

"I thought it was someone's pet," Denton said.

The otter "grabbed me by the foot and pulled on my leg and I went down," he said.

Denton was writhing on the ground and bleeding while trying to pull at the otter's ears and head to get him off, but the animal continued to bite.

Raymond Duval, 53, was driving past in his white truck when he saw Denton on the ground and called 911.

The 11-minute 911 recording chronicles Duval kicking the otter and swearing at it and Janssen stopping to help.

"There's a man on the ground with an otter on him," Duval told the emergency operator about 4:30 a.m. "He's lost a lot of blood."

"This otter is nonstop," Duval told the operator. "Please hurry."

One of the rescuers finally struck the otter with a shovel.

With the animal lying still on the ground, the men thought the otter was dead. But as in all good horror plots, the attacker popped up for one more rush.

On the 911 tape after a lull, the caller yelled, "It isn't over."

After the otter was shot, both Denton and Janssen were taken to Venice Regional Medical Center, treated and released. Duval was not injured.

About seven hours later, Denton sat on his couch in the modest neighborhood of 1950s-style ranch homes south of Venice, recounting the ordeal for a stream of reporters. His hands were wrapped in white gauze and he had nine stitches in his head.

Denton said he will have to see a plastic surgeon because there was not enough skin to stitch up his fingers.

Sarasota County Animal Control tested the animal and confirmed late Friday that it was rabid. Both Denton and Janssen will need a series of shots to prevent illness.

The county issued a rabies alert to raise public awareness of the danger.

A biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation said otters are susceptible to rabies, which alters their behavior.

"They are skittish for the most part," said biologist Jeff Gore.

They have sharp teeth to eat fish, frogs and other aquatic animals. They live near lakes and walk on all fours when on land.

Last month, a rabid otter attacked a horse in Englewood, but otherwise otter attacks are rare.

Otters are active at night, which, for Denton, means early in the morning when he likes to walk.

"I usually walk with a lady," he said. "But I was ahead of her."

From: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100306/ARTICLE/3061028/0/NEWS