Woman left bloodied after 'vicious and relentless' otter attack saw the animal gouge her face and tear off part of her ear
14 August 2023, 16:07 | Updated: 14 August 2023, 16:31
A mother-of-three was left bloodied and requiring extensive surgery after being attacked by an otter in what she describes as a "relentless" attack on a leafy stretch of river.
The brutal attack occurred at around 8:15pm on August 2 on a stretch of the Jefferson River in Montana, USA, as Ms Royce celebrated a birthday with two friends.
The 37-year-old was clawed by the wild animal after it appeared in the middle of the river, leaving her and a friend with extensive injuries over what she describes as a "5 minute" attack.
"Without ANY exaggeration, God's honest truth, I did not think I was going to make it out of that river," Royce wrote, recounting the incident on Facebook.
"I had no clue if my friends were going to make it out. But by the grace of God we did."
Describing details of the attack further, Ms Royce wrote: "I didn't even have a chance to get the words 'there is an otter behind you,' out of me before it attacked."
Labelling the animal's attack "vicious and relentless", Ms Royce, from Bozeman, Montana, said the wild animal "bit my face in several places, both of my ears, by arms, my hands, my legs, my thighs, and my ankle.
"My friends were bit on the hands and on their bottoms. One friend’s thumb was SHREDDED and she has bite marks all over her body as well."
She continued: "Being in the middle of the river meant I couldn’t reach the bottom with my feet, so I was trying to tread water while fending for my body.
"The water was definitely where they excelled in their attack and we were helpless. I tried to kick it away but I would just get attacked somewhere else."
Sustaining extensive lacerations across her body, Ms Royce was airlifted from the area by emergency services shortly after escaping the water.
Emergency crews finally located the group following desperate 911 calls due to the remote nature of the area.
Explaining the incident, Ms Royce clarified: "People who don’t know or care have made this an incident of us trying to take selfies with these creatures or like we were trying to get too close to them.
"We did NOT do that. We were in the middle of the river at a wide stretch, not near the shore, and we didn’t even know the otter/otters were there until we were attacked."
Explaining that her surgery, which was expected to last two hours ended up taking around five, Ms Royce said she had "more stitches in my body than I can count".
Thanking an extensive list of doctors and rescuers, Ms Royce continued: "To my two girlfriends: I love you both so much. I am so sorry this happened.
"From the bottom of my heart, thank you everyone for all of the love and support received," she concluded, adding the family was "incredibly grateful" for the level of kindness shown by strangers.
She added: "To those who choose to criticize and victim blame, there is a special place for you. I hope you try to lean towards compassion instead of such cruelty, but only you can make that choice for yourself."
A Go Fund Me page has now been launched by a friend of Ms Royce, whose husband is a firefighter with the Central Valley fire department, in a bid to cover the extensive medical bills.
