A 67-year-old woman says she was attacked by a beaver while paddleboarding on a lake named for the rodent in North Carolina.

Betsy Bent told the Citizen-Times of Asheville that the beaver knocked her board over from underneath the water Friday at Beaver Lake, then latched on to her leg and wouldn't let go.

The 67-year-old paddleboarder says a fisherman on the lake knocked the beaver off her twice, but it attacked again before letting her go. Bent needed stitches and rabies shots.

Asheville Police say an animal control officer caught the beaver the next day, and the animal is being tested for rabies.

Bent says she thinks it was just a bizarre incident and plans to go paddleboarding again.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Georgia Power's Plant Bowen in Cartersville is shown. The utility wants to add about 10,000 megawatts of power supplies in just five years, mainly to serve data centers. (Hyosyb Shin/AJC 2015)

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Featured

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney — pictured during a hearing Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 — has cleared the way for Georgia's State Election Board to obtain Fulton ballots and other documents from the 2020 election. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC