Harrowing second man kills ‘rabid beaver’ after it ‘charged and bit’ him
A man says a 30kg wild beaver “charged” into his garden, bit his lower leg leaving two deep wounds, and was later sent to hospital as the animal was tested for rabies
A possibly rabid wild beaver attacked a man(Image: 24sata)
A possibly rabid wild beaver attacked a man in his own yard when it “charged” at him and “bit his lower leg”. Shocking footage showed the moment Ilija, 52, was fighting off the animal in the garden of his holiday home in Novska, Croatia.
The incident, which happened on a Sunday evening (May 24) started when Ilija noticed his dogs barking. The man then spotted a “strange animal” charging into his yard and hissing aggressively.
He recalled: “Just before that I’d spoken to my wife, who was finishing work, when I heard the dogs barking. They were under control in the yard when I saw a strange animal charging at one of them.
“It came at me and started hissing.” According to his account, the beaver, said to weigh more than 30kg (66lb), ran at him and then lunged, biting him on the lower leg.
He said the bite left two deep, open wounds up to 4cm long and caused heavy bleeding. Ilija subsequently defended himself with a pitchfork, killing the animal, 24 Sata reported.
“I know the animal is protected, but it attacked me in my own yard. I was only defending myself,” he explained.
Killed with a pitchfork
Ilija continued: “If it had jumped a bit higher, it would have bitten me ‘somewhere else’. I was bleeding and I grabbed a pitchfork that was nearby.
He said he got into his car and, on the way, came across police officers who told him to go straight to A&E. After initial treatment, he was referred to Pakrac Hospital.
Doctors found two bleeding, open wounds on his lower leg, each measuring up to 4cm. “I managed to defend myself with it somehow.”
The Croat further recalled: “I called all the services, even the hunters, and everyone ignored me. In the end, while I was in hospital, they told me I should drive the beaver’s carcass to the veterinary station myself.
With his wife’s help, he loaded the beaver into the car and took it to a veterinary station. He also sought advice from an epidemiologist.
Ilija said: “We’re waiting for the findings now to see if it was suffering from anything, if it had rabies. Only when the results come will they decide what additional medication I’ll receive.
Rabies in top British holiday destination
Croatia remains one of the UK’s most popular holiday destinations, drawing large numbers of British visitors each year. Despite Ilija’s ordeal, the countrie’s overall rabies risk is considered extremely low.
The European Commission declared Croatia rabies-free in 2021, and the last indigenous case recorded in the country was in 2014, detected in a wild red fox. Croatia has not recorded a domestically acquired human death from rabies since 1964.
Health authorities say the status was achieved through a long-running eradication programme, supported by the EU, which has included mass vaccination of wildlife. Under the scheme, oral vaccine baits are distributed across rural areas twice a year, typically in spring and autumn, to immunise wild animal populations, alongside mandatory vaccination requirements for domestic pets.
Experts caution, however, that “rabies-free” does not mean “risk-free”. As in many European countries, bats can still carry rabies-related lyssaviruses, meaning any bite or scratch from a bat would usually be treated as a potential exposure requiring precautionary post-exposure treatment.
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