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Fairfax County Police reported the second instance of an aggressive beaver attacking humans in the span of a week. On Saturday, animal control officers were dispatched to the Hidden Pond Nature Center to respond to a report of a beaver chasing a group of children who were just finishing up a friendly fishing contest.

As the kids were trolling for a bite, a beaver sprang out of the fishing hole and on to the dock, where it started acting dangerously and chasing the young anglers. A responding officer cleared the area and shot the creature.

The incident occurred just five days after an 83-year-old woman was bitten by a rabid beaver while taking a dip in Lake Barcroft. Lillian Peterson, was just going for a swim the afternoon of September 4 when a 35-pound, 24-inch beaver bit her on the back of her leg and only let go after 20 minutes of Peterson and a friend hitting the animal with several heavy objects. Peterson was seriously injured in the attack.

None of the kids at Saturday’s fishing competition were hurt in the latest beaver attack, but animal control authorities still took the creature into custody and confirmed yesterday that it, like the Lake Barcroft beaver, carries the rabies virus, according to a Fairfax Police news release.

Back at Lake Barcroft, there was a sighting of a rabid raccoon reported Sunday.