Swim Instructor Gets 38 Stitches After Lake Tahoe Otter Attack

A Nevada swim instructor required 38 stitches after being attacked by a river otter during a morning swim in Lake Tahoe over the weekend. Lynette Bellin, 51, was swimming near Hidden Beach on the lake's northeast shore on Sunday, August 30, when the animal grabbed her leg and pulled her underwater. Bellin, a certified infant swimming resource instructor, said she had been in the water for about 30 minutes when the attack began. She initially thought a person had grabbed her, but soon realized it was an otter. "It was so powerful it felt like a human," Bellin told reporters. "And then I felt the teeth and claws, and it was relentless.