FRANKLIN, Pa. (AP) — A western Pennsylvania fisherman is recovering after a river otter swam over and repeatedly bit and scratched him.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission says they’re trying to determine why the otter attacked the unidentified 27-year-old man at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday, at the junction of French Creek and the Allegheny River in Franklin. That’s about 80 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Spokesman Jerry Feaser says officials think the otter might be rabid, but they’re not sure.

The Game Commission says the creature entered the creek and didn’t stop when the man shouted and slapped the water with his rod.

The otter bit the man five times on the leg and toe. The attack ended when the man kicked the otter in the head.

The otter’s whereabouts are unknown.

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