A rabid beaver attacked two swimmers in a Baltimore County reservoir last weekend in separate incidents, health officials said, clamping down on one victim?s thighs and upper back as family members frantically dragged her from the water.
Authorities believe the same beaver is responsible for both attacks, one Saturday and one Sunday, in a cove near Loch Raven Drive north of Loch Raven Reservoir?s main dam. The husband of the victim injured in Sunday?s attack clubbed the beaver to death with a rock.
“It sounds like it was a pretty vicious, unrelenting attack,” said Gary Thompson, rabies coordinator for the county Health Department. “She suffered pretty significant wounds.”
Both victims and the husband, who may have suffered minor scratches and bites, are receiving anti-rabies vaccines, which health officials said are 100 percent effective if administered correctly.
Authorities are searching for a “good Samaritan” who helped drag the beaver?s Sunday victim from the water, who should be checked for possible rabies exposure, Health Department spokeswoman Monique Lyle said. He is described as a muscular white male in his mid-20s who was riding a sports motorcycle. He has light hair and was wearing yellow-and-white swim trunks.
The county does not permit swimming in drinking water reservoirs, including Loch Raven, Lyle said.
Raccoons are by far the most common species for confirmed rabies cases in Maryland, followedby skunks and bats, according to statistics. Thompson said the attacks are the first from a rabid beaver in his 13 years with the county, but said a man last year had to hold a raccoon latched on to his arm underwater until the animal was drowned.
Thompson urged residents to avoid wildlife, to keep pets up-to-date on rabies vaccinations and to not swim in restricted areas.
“I know there?s other beavers in the area and we consider all rabid unless we test them otherwise,” Thompson said. “You pay a price other than admission.”
