A group of wild otters viciously attacked a woman jogging in an inner-city park in Malaysia.

Mariasella Harun, 40, was chased and mauled by eight of the mammals on Wednesday morning in Tanjung Aru, in the northern Sabah state of Borneo island.

A graphic video of the aftermath showed the victim huddled on a pavement with deep gashes visible on her arms, as blood streaked her temple, T-shirt and leggings.

Another clip captured the bevy of otters – each as big as a small dog, with slick dark hair – charging across a car park moments before the attack.

It is the latest in a series of incidents involving humans and otters in the area. A man was recently taken to hospital after another unprovoked attack.

Otter attacks are increasing across the whole of South-East Asia, according to wildlife authorities.

Despite their somewhat cuddly appearance, otters have teeth and jaws that are strong enough to crack open shellfish.

They can weigh up to 14kg and grow up to 4ft, including their tail.

  • pandapoo@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    48
    ·
    2 months ago

    Wow, talk about some blatant dog whistling here…

    Inner-city otters? Why not just call them musteld hoodlums? Or shrimp theiving thugs?

    How much you wanna bet that if this was an artic fox, or polar bear attack, the words inner city would never have appeared in this article…

    • scutiger@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      2 months ago

      How much you wanna bet that if this was an artic fox, or polar bear attack, the words inner city would never have appeared in this article…

      Ok, that’s fair, but polar bears and arctic foxes aren’t known to frequent the tropics.

      • pandapoo@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        edit-2
        2 months ago

        Probably because people like you make them feel unwelcome.

        Did you ever stop and think that if you made them feel comfortable, that they might visit more often?

        • scutiger@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          2 months ago

          I live nowhere near the tropics. In fact, I live in a place where I could actually see polar bears and arctic foxes if I was so inclined. I like that they exist, but I don’t want them anywhere near me, as specist as that may sound.