Beaver Attack pulls man off kayak

Click to watch news clip of beaver attack in NY that put one man in the hospital.

Rochester, N.Y. – A beaver jumped out of Irondequoit Creek and attacked a man in a kayak, knocking him into the water last Tuesday. The victim, Michael Cavanaugh of Lima, N.Y. is recovering after being treated in the hospital for bite wounds on his back and deep puncture wounds on his arm. He is also being treated for rabies as a precaution. BayCreek Paddling Center trainer Nate Reynolds saw part of the attack.

And it starts…

I saw this last night and it was picked up by UPI this morning, so we should all get ready for another Belarussian run as every news outlet from Concord California to Caribou Maine covering the excitement. Brace yourself for comments like this,

Beaver are not friendly critters and there have been a few people killed by them. I forget if the Beaver got lucky by biting an artery or if I read that they GO for arteries but people have been attacked and bled to death.

Hahahaha! I know its sick and wrong but the idea of beavers going for arteries makes me laugh very much indeed. Do they keep a copy of Grey’s anatomy in their lodge? I couldn’t help thinking of this famous Monty Python sketch. The lumberjack at the end adds that special touch.

Well beavers ARE protecting their young at the moment. (So much so that in Martinez we weren’t even granted a glimpse of the little bugger last night, I didn’t realize they were actually letting us off easy.) We were lucky. Apparently in New Jersey they’re lunging onto the shores.

Couple says they were attacked by beaver in Watchung

Beware the mad beaver of Lake Surprise.

Karen and Barry Rubinstein were enjoying a stroll by the picturesque lake, nestled in Union County’s Watchung Reservation, last Tuesday when they noticed a head popping out of the water.

The creature spotted the Rubinsteins and set its sights on the shoreline.

“It’s bee-lining, I mean, this thing is swimming right at us,” Karen Rubinstein said.

The animal, which she estimated weighed as much as 40 pounds, came flopping out of the water, its teeth bared and its webbed feet moving as fast as they could manage.

The couple, who live in Summit, started running toward their car when a jogger warned them the animal could get hurt if it chased them into the road.

lake-surprise.jpgThe boat launch at Lake Surprise, which was the scene of last week’s animal attack.Tom Wright-Piersanti/The Star-Ledger

Karen Rubinstein jumped onto a nearby bench and saw her husband cut back toward the lake when the animal suddenly lunged, missing him by inches. After almost chomping Barry’s leg, it scurried back into the water.

If it’s true (and I’m not saying it is) it’s fairly remarkable that they listened to the jogger’s advice. I mean if a terrifying animal was lunging at ME I sure wouldn’t be overly worried about it getting hit by a car. Would you? And how long does it take for a jogger to size up the situation, see the attacker and the victims and guess their destination, and say “Don’t lure him out to the road or he might get hit.” (Was the jogger the president of PETA?) “Make sure he attacks you someplace safe, or he could get hurt!”

Anyway all that must take a pretty long time which means a pretty slow lunge even for a beaver.

Clearly the jogger was not as alarmed as these people were. Are there illegal substances that make you irrationally paranoid of rodents? Will there possibly be blood or urine tests involved?

The park manager explained there were no beavers in the lake nor sign of trees chewed. Otters, however, had been spotted recently.

Still, Karen Rubinstein, who studied forestry at Rutgers University for several years, insisted the creature she saw was a beaver based on its feet, its tail and its size.

“There’s no other animal it could be, unless it was an alien invasion,” she said.

I’m going with that explanation, Karen. Makes the most sense to me. _________________________________________________

More envy-producing adorableness from Rusty in Napa. Turn your volume UP. How’s this for a mother and child reunion?