headline: Gang of wild otters mauls jogger

subheadline: Woman, 40, badly hurt in park after eight of the carnivorous creatures launch early-morning attack

Lilia Sebouai 11 September 2024 • 4:08pm

The otters were filmed running across a car park moments before the attack

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.

Mariasella Harun, 40, was badly hurt in 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.

Ms Harun said she fought off the animals for what felt like five minutes until other joggers came to her aid.

She described finding herself suddenly surrounded by the pack after they “jumped out” from a drain in Perdana Park at about 6am local time.

“At first, I thought it was a cat, but the creature jumped out and bit me while I was running, and there were many of them … I could not even stand up when it happened,” she told local media.

Ms Harun was then taken to a nearby hospital as a wildlife team was sent to monitor the otters.

Roland Niun, the director of the Sabah Wildlife Department, said the otters might have seen Ms Harun “as a threat to their cubs and reacted defensively”.

“Otters generally avoid humans, and their perceived cuteness might lead some to mistakenly believe they are friendly and tame,” he said. “It is not advisable to approach them, as they can bite when provoked.”

A medical team at the scene on Wednesday morning

Mr Niun said a family of otters, including six adults and two cubs, had frequently been seen hunting for fish in the park’s lake.

He said the fence around the park would be reinforced and warned the public not to “feed them or provoke them in any way”.

The adoption of otters as household pets has become a growing trend across Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

However, a recent report found that 60 per cent of the animals seized by authorities in South-East Asia were headed for Japan, according to Traffic Japan, a group monitoring the illegal wildlife trade.

The trapping and export of otters is illegal in many countries, but the carnivores are often freely traded online.

In Indonesia, otter owners often join online communities and organise meet-ups to show off their pets, even parading them on leashes in the streets of Jakarta on Sundays.