Swimmer: Rabid Beaver Was 'Out for Blood'

Holiday swim, rabid beaver: not the July 4 combo a Vermont man expected in upstate New York's Lake George. Brandon Shortsleeve says he'd been in the water off Turtle Island for only minutes when a young beaver attacked his friend, WTAE reports. "The first time my friend ended up picking it up, it swam back at him, so we were like, OK, it's just out for blood," he says. Shortsleeve says he didn't know it was a beaver at first. "I just grabbed this little brown blob," he says. The animal bit him several times before he managed to hurl it away and help clear swimmers from the water.

Wildlife officials say the beaver was likely rabid. "They're afraid of us. They don't want to interact with us. They're not particularly curious about us. A normal beaver, if you're boating along or kayaking along, if a beaver sees you, they will slap the water with their giant tails, and they'll swim away," says Jackie Lendrum, director of the state Department of Environmental Conservation's Fish and Wildlife Division. "If you see a beaver approaching you, whether you're swimming or boating, that would be considered abnormal beaver behavior."

The agency is urging caution around Turtle Island and asking the public to report unusual animal behavior. A dead beaver found in the area five days after the attack tested positive for rabies, but officials say there's a chance others in the colony may have been infected, News 10 reports. Shortsleeve and his friend are undergoing rabies treatment. He says he hasn't developed a fear of beavers. "I was told that I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than that ever happening again," he says.