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A unsuspecting woman has recounted the strange incident in which she was attacked by a otter while supporting marathon participants.

Erin Hogston, 45, was cheering on her friends as they participated in the Tobacco Road Marathon on Sunday in Cary,North Carolina, during her attack.

She discovered a vantage point close to a park and was proceeding further along the path when she detected a sound emerging from the bushes.

“It was a lovely morning, pleasant weather, and all at once I heard a [rustling] in the bushes behind me,” Hogston said in a video shared online.Facebook. 

A otter suddenly appears from the woods and attacks me.

Hogston, a runner who previously made it to the Olympic trials in 2020 as mentioned on her social media, ran for her safety but stumbled.

I was sprinting with all my might, faster than my legs could handle, and I stumbled. I have scratches, wounds, and bruises covering my body, and [the otter] bit my ankle, breaking the skin, so I need to get a rabies vaccination,” she said.

She recorded a video of the otter sprinting across the road following the attack. “Holy crap,” Hogston exclaimed as the otter went by.

Hogston also expressed gratitude to a runner who assisted her in breaking free from the otter’s grip.

“Thank you for driving it away and for informing everyone else that a spectator was attacked by a sea otter, because I truly believe no one would have believed me,” she said.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Hogston mentioned that she visited the doctor’s office for her seventh dose of the rabies vaccine.

Hogston told WECTMedical treatment has cost her thousands of dollars, and everyone she informs about the disagreement is surprised.

I had to wait for a few hours in the ER, and when I arrived, they asked, ‘What did you get bitten by?’” she said. “I replied, ‘An otter.’ They responded, ‘That’s unusual.’

Everyone was saying, ‘wow, we thought they were nice, we thought they were cute.’ I don’t know, I don’t find otters cute at all, especially now.

Only 59 verified otter attacks have occurred globally since 1875, with just one additional incident reported in North Carolina, as stated by the local news outlet.

“Otters, in general, are not hostile towards people,” said Falyn Owens, a biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, to the outlet.

Most individuals appreciate their presence, making a scenario such as this highly uncommon.

Hogston traveled over two hours from her house to support her friends and mentioned the circumstances seem almost surreal.

I simply wanted to support them, so I woke up very early,” she said. “I went a bit further from the aid station along the trail because I wanted to catch them by surprise and be easily visible.

Initially, I thought ‘that’s a bear.’ It sounded massive, and I was like ‘oh my God, I need to run away.’

She said, “Stay alert to your environment. You can’t predict what might be on those paths.”

The Daily Mail has reached out to Hogston, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and the Tobacco Road Marathon for their response.

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