A beaver that bit a 19-year-old fisherman at Cunningham Falls State Park earlier this week tested positive for rabies, the Frederick County Health Department said.

This is the second beaver to contract and test positive for rabies in the past two weeks. A 13-year-old boy who was swimming at the William Houck Area’s popular North Beach needed to be airlifted out of the same state park in late July from a rabid beaver bite.

On Wednesday, the fisherman was bitten on the ankle and brought himself to a nearby hospital.

The two incidents occurred within about 250 yards from each other, Joshua Tabora, a furbearer biologist for Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources, told The Baltimore Sun.

In response to both incidents, officials tore down a nearby beaver lodge and shut down areas of the park.

The Houck day-use area, boat ramp and the section of Big Hunting Creek above the lake have been closed, officials said.

All use of the closed areas is prohibited until the area can be confirmed safe, officials said. The effort is expected to take several days.

Tabora said beavers are not among the species most commonly associated with rabies and likely became infected after encountering another rabid animal.

“It’s an outbreak that we would consider to be isolated and, in all, maintained,” Tabora said.

Overall, beaver attacks are rare. The last two reported incidents of beaver attacks in Maryland were in 2021 and 2015, DNR said

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