The family of a 13-year-old boy attacked by a rabid beaver in Maryland is describing the animal as a large adult measuring about four feet long.
The July 26 attack was the first of three involving rabid beavers that led to the closure of Cunningham Falls State Park in Frederick County, according to the family’s GoFundMe page. The boy was identified by WUSA 9 as Dominick Cebula.
Dominick had been swimming in a designated area and looking at fish beneath the water when the beaver suddenly lunged at his chest and latched onto him, his family said in the online fundraiser.
Dominick Cebula, left, and his brother at Cunningham Falls State Park about 10 minutes before Dominick was attacked by a rabid beaver. (Alishia Cebula )
His mother and younger brother witnessed the unprovoked attack from the shore, the family said.
“This 4-foot-long beaver (not a cute little cuddly beaver — this thing was as big as his 8-year-old brother) came out of nowhere from the deep of the lake, beelined straight toward D, and began biting and attacking him,” Dominick’s aunt, Leigh Cebula, said.
“He did not provoke it, poke it, or mess with it in any way. This was completely unprovoked.”
A beaver swimming in a creek. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo, File)
Dominick’s father, Jeff Cebula, told WUSA 9 that the animal shook its head and would not release its grip.
“He grabbed its head and a leg, and he tried to get it off of him,” Jeff said. “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.”
Dominick eventually managed to pull the beaver off his chest and tried to back away with his hands raised, his dad said.
The boy’s family said he fought off the beaver twice before being airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital for treatment. (Alishia Cebula )
The beaver then lunged at him again and bit his right hand, prompting Dominick to fight it off a second time.
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He was promptly airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where doctors began treating his wounds and administering rabies post-exposure treatment.
“It was so traumatic. He was life-flighted to Johns Hopkins because the paramedics were worried his lung was punctured, luckily it wasn’t,” Dominick’s mother, Alishia Cebula, told News Media.
The boy is now recovering well after undergoing surgery earlier this month.
Dominick’s younger brother had just left the water to retrieve his goggles when the beaver attacked his older brother, according to the family. (Alishia Cebula )
“He is doing much better. He just had surgery on 9/4 to repair a severed nerve in his finger,” Alishia said. “He had a lot of appointments, especially with the rabies vaccines he had to get. Thank God for the vaccine.
“Luckily, we’re getting to the end of this traumatic event.”
Leigh added that the incident happened in an area where the family had swum for years and had never spotted beavers before.
Following the attack, the beaver was euthanized after testing positive for rabies. Swimming access to Hunting Creek Lake at the park was closed soon afterward.
Dominick Cebula underwent surgery to repair a severed nerve in his finger and received rabies post-exposure treatment after the attack. (Alishia Cebula )
The incident marked the first in a series of three attacks at the park.
On Aug. 5, a 19-year-old fisherman was bitten in the ankle by a beaver.
Less than three weeks later, a 10-year-old girl at Seneca Creek State Park was also attacked while wading with an organized group.