The "Predator Watch" series has already featured a story about an attack by an unknown animal. In that incident from March, investigators initially thought that perhaps a bear or mountain lion had attacked Alicia Maxey, a mother of four from Oklahoma, and left her unconscious with serious injuries. It turned out to be a domestic dog.
This week, the headlines tell of a mysterious animal and multiple victims in New Hampshire. Boston.com's headline reads: "An unknown 'wild animal' has been attacking people in this NH town." Officers from the Lebanon Police Department said the animal, which is responsible for at least three reported attacks, is "unusually aggressive."
I didn't plan on writing about this story, as the details were sparse, until I saw surveillance video obtained by Lebanon Police of an animal about the size of a domestic cat targeting a man getting out of a U-Haul truck in a parking lot. It definitely passes the "you gotta see this" test:
The animal's aggression reminds me of the beaver that bit an 8-year-old boy while he was fishing in a New Jersey lake (a video of that attack from May can be seen here). The beaver tested positive for rabies, and indeed the Lebanon Police Department is warning the public that rabies could be the reason the mystery animal in New Hampshire is so aggressive. "It's concerning because of the animal attacking people. That's usually indicative of something being wrong with the animal, most likely rabies," Chief Phillip Roberts said. "And then, you know, the fact that it's coming out and scratching and biting at people. That's obviously a concern to us."
Because police have not yet encountered the animal, they cannot confirm what type of animal it is, but witnesses have described two animals they believe it could be. Take your own guess, and I'll reveal what those animals are at the end of this piece.
Related: Predator Watch: Doctor Wakes Up With a Bat Trying to Burrow Into Her Mouth
The animal definitely was not an otter, although a wild otter that was just as aggressive as the unidentified New Hampshire animal attacked a woman in Lake Tahoe, Nev., this week. The man getting out of the U-Haul truck would certainly describe his attacker as "relentless," since it came after him more than once, but at least the attack lasted less than a minute. That was not the case for swim instructor Lynnette Bellin on Aug. 30.
Bellin was out for a morning swim near Hidden Beach in Incline Village. She felt something, which she at first thought was a person, grab her leg. People magazine detailed what happened next.
“It kept coming at me with teeth and claws. I tried to push it away but this thing was relentless,” she captioned her video. “I made my way to a rock and it climbed up on the rock and kept attacking me. I swear it was a 5-minute attack! I was yelling and pushing and it just kept coming for me.”
She then climbed onto a bigger rock and managed to get away from it. However, the otter “kept circling the area,” so she had to scale a fence and walk barefoot along the East Shore Bike Trail. Bellin, from Reno, Nevada, posted a video on Instagram showing her bloodied hands, along with scratches down her legs, feet and face, and was visibly shocked by the attack.
Bellin needed 40 stitches and a rabies shot. You can see the scratches on her face in this interview with KCRA 3:
This is not the first time this year that an attack by a wild otter has been in the news. In April, a Washington family reached a $350,000 settlement after an otter attacked their toddler at a marina in 2024. USA Today reports, "Officials said the child’s mother reported that a river otter pulled the young child into the water while they were walking along a dock. The child was dragged underwater and resurfaced moments later. The mother then lifted the toddler out of the water while the otter continued attacking and bit her arm." As you might expect based on the other stories in this column, the otter wasn't done. USA Today continues: "Wildlife officials said the animal pursued the family as they left the dock. The child suffered scratches and bites to the head, face and legs and was treated at a hospital in Silverdale." An otter captured at the scene tested negative for rabies, which is surprising if it was indeed the animal in question.
Now for the reveal of the New Hampshire mystery animal. Witnesses think it is either a fisher or a gray fox. Let me know in the comments if you guessed correctly.
