It was a slaughter of otters.
A Florida man was feeding ducks and geese at his local pond when a rabid otter savagely mauled him, leaving him with dozens of bites all over his body.
The Florida Department of Health confirmed that the animal tested positive for rabies and has since been euthanized. This is the first rabies-infected otter that Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control has seen since 2010.
Joseph Scaglione, 74, went out the gate surrounding his backyard in Jupiter last Wednesday to feed the birds that gather in the small pond adjacent to his property, as he does most mornings, he told station WPBF.
Suddenly, all the ducks and geese took flight, initially making Scaglione suspect that a bird of prey might be circling overhead.
“[I] “He looked up, there was no hawk, he looked down and there was a brown head sticking out of the edge of the pond,” the man recalled. “And at first I didn’t know it was an otter, but then I realized it was an otter.”
This rabies-infected otter terrorized the city of Jupiter, Florida, for several hours last week, sending one man to the hospital. Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control Joseph Scaglione, 74, was mauled by a crazed otter just outside his backyard last week. WPBFThe victim suffered 41 bites on his legs, arms and hands. WPBF
Scaglione said he began to back away toward his door, but as he raised his hand to close it, the crazed creature lunged at him, causing the septuagenarian to trip and fall.
The aquatic mammal then proceeded to mutilate the victim, sinking its sharp teeth into his legs, hands and arms a total of 41 times.
Scaglione was feeding ducks and geese near a pond when the otter pounced on him.WPBFThe otter savagely attacked Scaglione’s pinky on his right hand.WPBF
“My pinky is the worst. I have two puncture wounds,” Scaglione said, showing his wounds. “One is in the corner of where the cuticle was.”
Finally, the bleeding man was able to throw the otter aside and seek help.
Meanwhile, the otter continued to terrorize the Jupiter neighborhood, attacking a dog while its owners were walking it with a small child.
Finally, some locals put an end to the aquatic mammal’s ferocious attack by trapping it inside a garbage container.
Animal control officers captured the otter after it attacked a dog in Jupiter and was cornered by local residents. Courtesy of Luke Gray
Animal control officers were then called to take the otter and take a blood sample. On Saturday, a test confirmed the animal had rabies, said Capt. David Walesky, deputy director of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control.
Walesky said the unfortunate otter likely contracted the deadly virus from an infected raccoon.
The disease, which causes fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, is transmitted to people through the saliva of infected animals, usually through a bite.
Symptoms include fever, headache, excessive salivation, muscle spasms, paralysis, and mental confusion.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn