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Beaver Attacks are Serious
Gun Watch ^ | 19 December, 2014 | Dean Weingarten

Posted on 12/18/2014 8:48:53 PM PST by marktwain


I had missed this article when it came out in June of 2014.   It was particularly startling because there is no mention of the beaver having rabies.  The animal literally jumped out of the water, grabbed the kayaker by the arm, and pulled him from the boat.  From wtvr.com:

“It’s just a freak thing. This beaver was upset about something and went after him,” kayaking trainer Nate Reynolds said. “I heard him yell my name, so I come running out. As soon as I came out, I see the boat flip over, so the beaver had actually jumped up, grabbed his arm, and pulled him right out of his kayak.”

The beaver was still attached to Mike’s arm after it flipped him out of the kayak. That’s when Nate came down with the paddle. He hit the beaver with so much force it knocked the blade off the shaft.
The beaver, presumably the one who attacked, was later found, dead in the water.  Humans are much deadlier than beavers.  But as I started looking to see if there were any other beaver attacks on record, it became clear that there were several in the last three years.  In April, 2013 a man was reported killed by a beaver in Belarus.  From USAtoday:
A fisherman in Belarus was bitten to death by a beaver, and all he was doing was trying to take its picture, Sky News reports. The man spotted the beaver while fishing with friends at Lake Shestakov, but as he approached to take a photograph, the beaver bit him on the thigh. The animal managed to sever an artery, and his friends couldn't stop the blood flow.
 2012 was a banner year for beaver attacks.   Two young girls were attacked in Lake Anna by a rabid beaver in July.   The bites were severe.



The 8-year-old girl is shown above.   From nbcnews.com:
Alyssa received around 15 stitches on her upper thigh and Annabella sustained three wounds just above her knee, Wendy Radnovich told fredercksburg.com

The Spotsylvania County girls have since been released from the hospital.

The girls’ uncle shot the beaver with a BB gun, then killed it with a knife, the mother told fredericksburg.com.


This is the only attack where  a gun (another report says it was a pellet gun, not a BB gun;  I find the pellet gun more likely) was used in defense against the beaver.   The beaver pictured was rabid and weighed 65 pounds, a large specimen.   It seems likely that most of the victims would have been well served with a personal defensive firearm.

In August, 2012, Boy Scouts resorted to rocks to defend their scoutmaster.  From cbsnews.com:
After initially throwing the animal from his body, it returned to continue the attack, biting Brousseau in the leg, buttocks, arm, hand and torso before he managed to grab it and hold its jaw closed.

Brousseau threw the beaver ashore while Scouts helped him out of the water. After being momentarily stunned, the beaver began attacking a pool noodle.
It was a rabid animal.  The scouts killed it with thrown rocks.

An 83-Year-Old Woman, Lillian Peterson, was attacked by a beaver in September of  2012.  From washingtonpost.com:
A 35-pound, 24-inch rabid beaver had bitten her on the back of the leg and would not let go, sparking an ordeal that lasted more than 20 minutes Tuesday evening. The Falls Church woman and a friend battled the animal with canoe paddles, a stick and bare hands as it came at them again and again. Peterson was seriously injured.


Lillian credits her friend with saving her life.  She believes that the beaver would have killed her if she were the only one fighting it.

While I do not normally think of beavers as dangerous, it is clear that they sometimes are;  normally the dangerous ones turn out to be rabid, but that only makes them more dangerous, not less. 

It appears that the attacks are less frequent than dog attacks, but more frequent than attacks by mountain lions.  There are simply a lot more beaver than there are mountain lions.  The world is a bit more dangerous than I thought.

 ©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Outdoors; Pets/Animals; Society
KEYWORDS: banglist; beaverattack; pelletgun; rabies
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All rabid animals are dangerous, but a beaver, in the water, would be a credible threat.
1 posted on 12/18/2014 8:48:53 PM PST by marktwain
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To: marktwain

They can be downright vicious.


2 posted on 12/18/2014 8:50:11 PM PST by Lurkina.n.Learnin (It's a shame nobama truly doesn't care about any of this. Our country, our future, he doesn't care)
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To: marktwain

Nah. Too easy.


3 posted on 12/18/2014 8:51:18 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (Doctrine doesn't change. The trick is to find a way around it.)
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To: marktwain

Dang, I wonder what one would do to Jimmy Carter, right..?


4 posted on 12/18/2014 8:52:10 PM PST by gaijin
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To: marktwain
all right, all right. Here goes:

.


5 posted on 12/18/2014 8:52:16 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (Doctrine doesn't change. The trick is to find a way around it.)
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To: Jeff Chandler

Yep, keeping my mouth shut. LOL!


6 posted on 12/18/2014 8:53:03 PM PST by doc1019
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To: marktwain

There used to be an OBGYN in Virginia named Harry Beaver ....


7 posted on 12/18/2014 8:53:16 PM PST by 11th_VA
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To: marktwain; PJ-Comix

8 posted on 12/18/2014 8:53:23 PM PST by Charles Henrickson
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To: marktwain
This beaver was upset about something and went after him,” kayaking trainer Nate Reynolds said. “I heard him yell my name, so I come running out.

I call B.S. Beavers can't talk.

9 posted on 12/18/2014 8:53:29 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (Doctrine doesn't change. The trick is to find a way around it.)
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To: marktwain

Damn, that’s one wildlife threat I never really considered. None near me, but I’ve spent a lot of time in their habitat. I’ll remember this next time i’m in MN.


10 posted on 12/18/2014 8:53:47 PM PST by umgud (I couldn't understand why the ball kept getting bigger......... then it hit me.)
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To: marktwain

Ward, weren't you a little hard on the Beaver last night?

11 posted on 12/18/2014 8:54:27 PM PST by Michael.SF. (It takes a gun to feed a village (and a AK 47 to defend it).)
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To: marktwain

Sure they’ll let you go after all the screamin’ and hollerin, but by then it’s too late.


12 posted on 12/18/2014 8:56:02 PM PST by ElkGroveDan (My tagline is in the shop.)
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To: marktwain

Im not making this up : http://www.wellness.com/dir/2471590/obgyn/va/fairfax/harry-beaver-md#referrer


13 posted on 12/18/2014 8:56:06 PM PST by 11th_VA
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To: Michael.SF.

That’s Hugh!


14 posted on 12/18/2014 8:59:45 PM PST by Larry Lucido
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To: umgud
Damn, that’s one wildlife threat I never really considered.

I work in beaver country and see many throughout the course of a year. They are aggressive! When you're invading their water space, you'll get notified by repeated (and loud) tail slaps on the water. I've had one encircle my canoe. I've even encountered many on land. They're much bigger than you imagine. They could easily take down a medium-sized dog.

Fun to watch them, but keep your distance.

15 posted on 12/18/2014 9:00:23 PM PST by Flycatcher (God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
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To: Michael.SF.
This isn't a college football thread?


16 posted on 12/18/2014 9:02:16 PM PST by PROCON (Merry CHRISTmas!!)
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To: ElkGroveDan

Yeah, then they want to talk, for hours when at that point I was needing sleep.

Oh wait, you were talking about the kind with the big paddle-like thing for a tail?

My mistake, nevermind

17 posted on 12/18/2014 9:02:17 PM PST by BlueDragon (I could see sound,love,and the soundsetme Free,but youwerenot listening,so could not see)
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To: Jeff Chandler

18 posted on 12/18/2014 9:03:28 PM PST by smoothsailing
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To: 11th_VA

Regarding the Link you provided:

I enjoyed reading the Review by “Anita Head”.
She seems to really like “Dr. Beaver”.


19 posted on 12/18/2014 9:03:45 PM PST by Kickass Conservative (If you thought the Mulatto Marxist was bad, wait until the Menopausal Marxist is Elected.)
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To: marktwain

No wonder Phil Robertson hates Beavers. I had no idea they were such vicious Animals. They must be Liberals.


20 posted on 12/18/2014 9:04:58 PM PST by Kickass Conservative (If you thought the Mulatto Marxist was bad, wait until the Menopausal Marxist is Elected.)
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