Grandmother saves 8-year-old from otter attack in Washington river

MACHIAS, Wash. -- A river otter attacked an 8-year-old boy and his grandmother as they were swimming in the Pilchuck River at a park in the Snohomish County town of Machias.

The boy's mother, Tabitha Moser, told KING that she saw the 4-foot otter attack her son Thursday morning at Lake Connor Park. She says her mother saved him.

The grandmother was treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and the boy at Providence Medical Center in Everett. The station reported that the grandmother is undergoing eye surgery.

Moser says she heard her son screaming and saw the otter on top of his head. She says the otter continued to bite her mother as they left the water.

Moser says the otter stood on its hind legs and looked at them as if to say, "Don't come in here."

As CBS affiliate KIRO in Seattle reported in March, otters may look cute and friendly, but photos recently published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show looks can be very deceptive. The photos show an otter taking on a juvenile alligator and winning.