While preparing for a triathlon in Minnesota, Leah Prudhomme was doing her regular practice swim in Island Lake when she passed by a seemingly harmless bog on her final lap. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a two-foot long tube of waterborne fury launched a completely unprovoked attack.
The weaselly assailant was an ordinary otter. To quote Prudhomme, “It had a gray head, little beaded eyes, and was very agile in the water. . . . It would just like latch onto my leg and latch onto my thigh.”
Apparently the attack has baffled experts who assume that the otter was protecting its young, but until the Otter Whisperer hits the case, we may never know. Prudhomme has admitted that she is scared about returning to swimming, but refuses to let it get the best of her. I like to imagine that she was comforted by these otters that look remarkably like our favorite Sherlock.