Well I’ll be dammed.
Wild video captured a beaver attacking a small child while he was fishing in a New Jersey lake — after earlier pouncing on other unsuspecting visitors.
The unidentified 8-year-old boy was with his family at Lake Henry in the Continental Soldiers Park complex in Mahwah around 6 p.m. Sunday “when the beaver exited the lake and charged him,” police told News 12 New Jersey.
“The child began to run away but tripped. The animal bit the child in the upper thigh and continued to attack him,” Mahwah police said.
Cellphone footage shared on Facebook shows the boy’s relatives trying to get the child out of the water and away from the beaver — just for the furious animal to give chase.
One of the relatives kicked the animal as a pet dog also joined the fray, before someone managed to fling the wild attacker back into the water.
The boy was transported to a local hospital by EMS crews for treatment. The extent of his injuries isn’t known.
Police later learned the same beaver had attacked other park guests earlier in the day. It was unclear how many or how serious their injuries were, beyond news that they also needed treatment.
Animal control officers responded and reported that the animal went on the attack because of an illness. It was captured and sent for testing,
Police have urged anyone who encountered the animal to contact them at 201-529-1000, Ext. 210.
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