A 13-year-old boy is recovering after undergoing multiple surgeries following a rabid beaver attack at Cunningham Falls State Park in Maryland. The incident occurred on July 26 when Dominick Cebula was swimming and encountered the animal.
Dominick's father, Jeff Cebula, recounted that the beaver latched onto his son's chest and refused to let go. The teen managed to free himself, but the animal then attacked his right hand. "He grabbed its head and a leg, and he tried to get it off of him," Jeff Cebula told WUSA 9. "At that point, he kind of felt that it was locked onto him. And then it started shaking its head, kind of like a dog would do."
Following the second attack, Dominick was airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital. He received rabies post-exposure treatment, which involves multiple injections around each bite site. The beaver was later confirmed to be rabid.
The teen has undergone three surgeries to address the wounds on his chest and hands, as well as to repair significant nerve damage resulting from the attack. The incident interrupted a 30-year family tradition of annual visits to the park.
This attack was one of at least three reported incidents involving rabid beavers in Maryland in recent weeks. A fisherman was attacked at the same park about 10 days after Dominick's encounter, and a 10-year-old was bitten by a rabid beaver in a canoe at Seneca Creek State Park. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted a 17% increase in rabies-related inquiries this summer.