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Maryland family speaks out after ‘4-foot-long’ rabid beaver attacks 13-year-old boy
By Bonny Chu
Published September 16, 2026
The family of a 13-year-old boy who was viciously attacked by a rabid beaver in Maryland has spoken out about the incident, describing the animal as a massive, four-foot-long adult.
The July 26 incident was the first of three rabid beaver attacks that prompted Cunningham Falls State Park in Frederick County to close, according to the family's GoFundMe.
The teen was identified as Dominick Cebula by WUSA 9.
Dominick was swimming and looking at fish underwater in a designated area when the beaver suddenly struck his chest and latched onto him, the family said in their online fundraiser.
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Dominick Cebula, left, and his brother at Cunningham Falls State Park about 10 minutes before Dominick was attacked by a rabid beaver. (Alishia Cebula )
The family said the unprovoked attack unfolded in front of the boy's mother and younger brother, who watched in horror from the shore.
"This 4-foot-long beaver (not a cute little cuddly beaver — this thing was as big as his 8-year-old brother) came out of nowhere from the deep of the lake, beelined straight toward D, and began biting and attacking him," Dominick's aunt, Leigh Cebula, said.
"He did not provoke it, poke it, or mess with it in any way. This was completely unprovoked."
A beaver swimming in a creek. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo, File)
Dad Jeff Cebula told WUSA 9 the beaver began shaking its head and refused to let go.
"He grabbed its head and a leg, and he tried to get it off of him," Jeff said. "At that point, he kind of felt that it was locked onto him. And then it started shaking its head, kind of like a dog would do."
Dominick eventually managed to pull the beaver off his chest and tried to back away with his hands raised, his dad said.
The boy’s family said he fought off the beaver twice before being airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital for treatment. (Alishia Cebula )
The beaver then lunged at him again and bit his right hand, prompting Dominick to fight it off a second time.
He was promptly airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where doctors began treating his wounds and administering rabies post-exposure treatment.
"It was so traumatic. He was lifeflighted to Johns Hopkins because the paramedics were worried his lung was punctured. Luckily it wasn't," Dominick's mother, Alishia Cebula, told Fox News Digital.
The boy is now recovering well after undergoing surgery earlier this month.
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Dominick’s younger brother had just left the water to retrieve his goggles when the beaver attacked his older brother, according to the family. (Alishia Cebula )
"He is doing much better. He just had surgery on 9/4 to repair a severed nerve in his finger," Alishia said. "He had a lot of appointments, especially with the rabies vaccines he had to get. Thank God for the vaccine.
"Luckily, we're getting to the end of this traumatic event."
Leigh added that the incident happened in an area where the family had swum for years and had never spotted beavers before.
After the attack, the beaver was euthanized after testing positive for rabies. Swimming access to Hunting Creek Lake at the park was closed soon afterward.
Dominick Cebula underwent surgery to repair a severed nerve in his finger and received rabies post-exposure treatment after the attack. (Alishia Cebula )
The incident marked the first in a series of three attacks at the park.
On Aug. 5, a 19-year-old fisherman was bitten in the ankle by a beaver.
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Less than three weeks later, a 10-year-old girl at Seneca Creek State Park was also attacked while wading with an organized group.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/maryland-family-speaks-after-4-foot-long-rabid-beaver-attacks-13-year-old-boy