Sue Spector shows off the deep wound on her nose and ear after being savaged by an otter while kayaking Sunday (Fox13)

A 77 year-old kayaker was almost killed after being savaged by a ‘rabid’ otter.

Sue Spector required stitches on her nose and ear and now faces rabies treatment after the river creature jumped onto her kayak and lunged at her Sunday morning.

Recalling the attack on the Braden River near Bradenton, Fl., she told Fox 13: ‘It was very pristine and very nice and I heard someone make a comment that, “Oh, there’s an otter!”

‘And then all of a sudden he jumped on the kayak and two seconds later he jumped on me.’


The crazed mammal attacked Sue with such force that she toppled from her kayak, and even then refused to let go.

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Sue was forced to have stitches on her nose (Fox 13)

Her ear was badly injured in the bizarre attack (Fox13)

Sue’s hand was also savaged by the river creature (Fox13)

Sue, from Sarasota, Fl., explained: ‘I took my paddle and I tried to get him off of me and he wouldn’t let go and I kept screaming, I kept beating him with a paddle.



‘When you’re [in the middle of] it you don’t have a lot of thought except you hope you survive.’

Her husband Marty, 78, who was also in the group, had to listen to his wifes screams after the animal struck.

The otter eventually let go of Sue, with other kayakers in the group forced to keep it at bay while she got back into her boat.

Her hat was shredded by the animal’s claws during the incident, with Sue thankful that her thick lifejacket stopped it from goring her back as well.

Sue showed off the damage the otter did to the hat she was wearing during the attack (Fox13)

Her husband Marty was forced to listen to his wife’s screams after the otter attack saw her plunge into neck-deep water (Fox 13)

The otter attack happened on Florida’s Braden River Sunday (Fox 13)

It was the second such attack over the weekend, with Florida Fish and Wildlife forced to erect a sign warning others of the aggressive creature (Fox 13)

Officials believe the same otter may have hospitalized another kayaker the day before Sue was attacked (File Photo/Getty)

She is now on antibiotics and faces four more treatments to ensure she did not contract rabies.

Florida fish and wildlife erected a sign afterwards warning others of the aggressive animal.

It was the second attack on the Braden River in two days, leading to speculation that the same animal was responsible for both.

Despite the scare, Sue vowed to return to the water soon, saying: ‘I’ll go back out kayaking as soon as I heal enough.’