Alaska News

Beaver kills fisherman in Belarus (+video)

A man lost his life after being attacked by a beaver on a fishing trip in the Eastern European country of Belarus left him mortally wounded.

The unnamed man was fishing at Lake Shestakov with two friends when they spotted the animal on the side of the road. According to Sky News, the man was trying to take a picture of the beaver when it "pounced" on him and bit into his thigh, severing an artery. His companions could not stop the bleeding.

Beaver attacks are unusual, but occasionally occur. In September, 2012, 83-year-old Lillian Peterson was viciously attacked in a Virgina lake by a rabid beaver during an after-work swim. Peterson survived after an "epic battle," but will likely never forget the incident. She told the Washington Post, "There is no way" she "will swim in that place again."

Unrelated to the Belarus beaver attack, the video below of a similar attack was shot and posted on YouTube by a Russian man last week.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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