Belarus man attacked and killed by rabid beaver
A beaver has killed a man in eastern Europe, according to authorities.
A fisherman is reported to have been attacked by a beaver as he attempted to get close to take its photo. However, the beaver felt threatened, attacking and killing the man.
The beaver pounced on him, biting him in the thigh which severed a main artery and the man, who came from Brest, bled to death.
Beaver attacks are rare and according to experts those animals that do go for humans are usually rabid.
Earlier this week a video was posted on YouTube showing a man in the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, running away from a beaver who charged at him as he was filming in the area.
Last year in the US two girls were mauled by a beaver in a lake in Virginia as they swam. They suffered serious bite and scratch injuries. A man was also attacked in New York and an elderly woman in Washington.
In 2003 in Belarus a farm manager and farmhand were bitten by a rabid beaver as they tried to chase it from a barn. They survived the attack.
Beavers are the second largest rodents in the world.