KUALA LUMPUR: The authorities have been put on alert after a daytime attack by wild otters on a senior citizen who was taking her morning walk at the Perdana Botanical Garden, formerly known as Lake Gardens, here.
It is learnt that the KL City Hall has taken action, including putting up public warning signboards, and engaging wildlife experts, after the victim, Brenda Marshall, 70, lodged a police report on the matter.
Marshall was bitten on both legs, sustaining multiple wounds. She had also dislocated her shoulder when she fell while trying to defend herself during the incident that occurred in April.
She managed to pick herself up and, with the help of a security guard, made it to her car to drive to a clinic. She was referred to a hospital due to the severity of the bites.
She later lodged a report at the Travers police station.
The incident is particularly worrying as there was a similar attack in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah where otters attacked a park-goer, Mariasella Harun, while she was jogging at the Perdana Park, Tanjung Aru, in September.
City Hall told theSun that it has asked the Wildlife and National Parks Department to undertake a detailed study on the current population of otters.
“Warning signs have been put up in the areas frequented by otters,” it said in a letter issued by its media unit.
“City Hall will work with the Malaysian Nature Society to gather feedback from wildlife rehabilitation experts on how to better manage otters.
“We believe they entered through the drain system that connects the gardens to the Klang River.
“There are also traps laid in the areas frequented by otters,” it added.
Marshall, a former vice-president of a corporate training firm, said more needed to be done to verify their actual numbers and to locate their habitats to prevent future attacks on visitors who frequent the park on a regular basis.
Marshall, who is still undergoing physiotherapy for her shoulder, said otters have very sharp fangs and can cause serious injuries.
She reached out to theSun after reading about the attack in Sabah.
According to Marshall, infectious diseases physician Dr Timothy Williams, who treated her at the medical centre where she was admitted, advised her to go to Singapore and be immunised with the rabies immunoglobulin vaccine as soon as possible.
“The normal rabies vaccine only gives protection if it is administered earlier, but not after the bite, whereas the rabies immunoglobulin vaccine gives immediate protection and can easily be procured in Singapore,” Williams told theSun.
