Next time you complain about beavers taking down the trees around your cottage, you can remind yourself of a recent story by The Associated Press.
According to reports, a fisherman in Belarus, who was hoping to get a photo with a beaver, was brutally attacked.
The unnamed fisherman was driving with friends toward a lake west of Minsk when he spotted the beaver and pulled over for a shot next to it. When he reached out to grab the rodent, it reportedly bit him several times. The beaver’s sharp teeth managed to slice through one of the 60-year-old’s major arteries, causing him to bleed to death.
While this man is the only person known to have died from a beaver attack in Belarus, according to the Star, the region has seen a string of injuries from encounters with beavers this year.
Beavers are generally nocturnal animals, and according to reports, this can sometimes leave them unsettled or confused during the day, causing them to act aggressive out of fear.