Teen Treated for Rabies After Beaver Bite at Maryland State Park

A 13-year-old boy was bitten by a rabid beaver while swimming in a designated area of Cunningham Falls State Park in Frederick County, Maryland, on July 26. The animal latched onto his chest, shook its head, and later bit his right hand before the teen was able to pull it off.

"He did not provoke it, poke it, or mess with it in any way. This was completely unprovoked," said Leigh Cebula, the boy's aunt.

Paramedics airlifted the boy to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where doctors treated his wounds, performed surgery to repair a severed nerve in his finger, and began a rabies post-exposure prophylaxis regimen. His mother, Alishia Cebula, said he is now recovering.

The beaver, described as a four-foot adult, was later euthanized after testing positive for rabies. The incident prompted park officials to close swimming access to Hunting Creek Lake. It was the first of three rabid beaver attacks reported at the park, followed by a bite to a 19-year-old fisherman on August 5 and an attack on a 10-year-old girl at a nearby state park later that month.