Teenager Injured by Rabid Beaver During Family Trip

A 13-year-old boy had to undergo several surgeries after a rabid beaver attacked him while he was at a Maryland state park with his family.

Dominick Cebula was having fun swimming and looking for fish at Cunningham Falls State Park on July 26 when suddenly, he felt the animal latch onto his chest and hang on tightly.

His father, Jeff Cebula, shared, “He grabbed its head and a leg, and he tried to get it off of him. 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.”

The distressed teenager managed to free himself from the beaver’s grip, but as he started to back away, the animal lunged at him again, biting his right hand.

After fighting it off once more, Dominick was airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital for treatment, where he needed a series of rabies post-exposure shots. “It’s not just one shot,” his father explained. “It’s multiple shots around each bite site.”

Sadly, the beaver was later confirmed to have rabies.

Dominick had to endure three surgeries to repair the wounds on his chest and hands and to address serious nerve damage caused by the attack.

This incident has unfortunately disrupted what had been a cherished 30-year family tradition of visiting the park, prompting Jeff Cebula to reflect on how such a dangerous occurrence could happen after so many peaceful summers. “I think that now I’m going to be a lot more aware of my surroundings,” he admitted.

As he continues to recover, Dominick’s adventurous summer saga—complete with his bite marks—has made him quite the talk among classmates, making him “pretty popular on the first day of school,” his dad remarked.

This attack on Dominick was one of three similar rabid beaver incidents reported in Maryland recently, including another attack on a fisherman at the same park just ten days later.

Additionally, a 10-year-old boy was attacked by a rabid beaver while canoeing at Seneca Creek State Park, located about 40 miles south of Cunningham Falls.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted a 17% rise in rabies-related inquiries this summer.