Teen Treated for Rabies After Beaver Attack at Maryland State Park

A 15-year-old boy was airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital after a beaver emerged from water at a Maryland state park and bit his hand and chest. Doctors performed several surgeries to treat wounds, repair nerve damage in a finger, and administered a series of rabies vaccinations. The animal tested positive for rabies and was euthanized, authorities said.

The incident is the third rabies-related beaver attack reported in Maryland this summer. In early August, a 19-year-old fisherman was bitten on the leg by a rabid beaver at Cunningham Falls, and a 10-year-old girl was bitten on the ankle while canoeing at Seneca Creek State Park later that month. Following the Cunningham Falls attack, the state Department of Natural Resources began dismantling a nearby beaver lodge and instituted daily surveillance of the lake with staff and a wildlife-damage control partner.

The teen's father, Jeff Cebula, said his son is still recovering but was able to start his freshman year of high school. > "He was pretty popular the first day of school," Cebula added.