83-Year-Old Woman Attacked By Rabid Beaver


An 83-year-old woman was attacked by a rabid beaver as she climbed out of Lake Barcroft near Washington DC after a swim in the second beaver attack of the summer.

Lillian Peterson was attacked on Tuesday evening by the rabid beaver in a terrifying ordeal that lasted 20 minutes and left Peterson seriously injured.

The rabid creature knocked Peterson off her feet, biting her on the back of the leg. When the beaver refused to let go, the Falls Church woman and a friend battled the animal with canoe paddles, a stick, and their bare hands while it repeatedly lunged at them, reports AZ Central.

Peterson spoke from her room at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia, stating:

“It bit me so bad. I started kicking it with my other leg, but I wasn’t sure what I would do.”

The rabid beaver attack left Peterson with a bite out of her left calf, her thumb nearly bit off, and several puncture wounds along her arms and legs. When animal control came on the scene, they euthanized the beaver and ran tests, confirming the animal had rabies.

Despite the woman being attacked by a rabid beaver, she was tough enough to chat up the paramedics while she was being loaded into the ambulance, according to The Daily Mail. Lillian is also receiving painful shots to treat rabies, because of the beaver’s positive test.

Officers have planned to hand out flyers in the area near the attack, explaining the dangers of rabies, a disease that causes the victim to behave strangely and often attack when they normally wouldn’t.

People are advised to keep their distance and report animals behaving strangely to the Animal Services Division of the Fairfax police department. As for Lillian Peterson, the woman attacked by a rabid beaver has no plans to return to Lake Barcroft, where the incident took place. When asked, Peterson stated, “There is no way I will swim in that place again.”

[Image from ShutterStock]

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