Rabid beaver chases children in Fairfax; 2nd attack in a week

A rabid beaver leaped from a pond and chased a group of children who had gathered for a fishing competition in a Fairfax County park on Saturday — the second beaver attack in the county in a week. Judy Pedersen, spokeswoman for the Fairfax County Park Authority, said the beaver attacked the children around 11:30 a.m. at the Hidden Pond Nature Center in Springfield. According to a staff member on duty during the competition, part of the park’s Safari Saturday program, the beaver swam over to a dock where about four or five children were standing with two parents. “There was a 4-year-old girl a little bit on one side by herself,” Ms. Pedersen said. “The beaver got up on the dock, staggering, and jumped toward the young girl.” The beaver didn’t touch the girl, and the parents grabbed the children and ran, she said...more