A beaver charged a group of canoeists at Seneca Creek State Park on the same day it bit a 10-year-old girl nearby, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources confirmed on Tuesday, Aug. 18, revealing a second encounter that had not been previously reported.

The update also corrected earlier accounts of the Aug. 13 attack. The girl was not in a canoe when she was bitten. She was swimming and wading with a summer camp group at a popular swimming hole near Berryville Road, close to the Potomac River, according to DNR's updated account reported by Daily Voice.

In a separate encounter at the same location, a beaver attempted to charge one of the boats in a canoeing group. No one was injured. DNR said officials initially believed the bitten girl had been with the canoeists, but witness interviews established the two encounters were separate, Patch reported.

The girl remains the only person injured. Camp counselors pulled the beaver off her before it escaped into the water. She suffered three lacerations to her upper leg and was treated at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, DNR said in its initial press release.

Park closures expanded

The closures near Berryville Road now extend beyond the original trail shutdown. Access to the adjacent parking lot and a second lot on Route 28 is blocked, with fluorescent orange cones and posted signs marking the restricted area. Approximately one mile of trail remains closed until further notice.

Other portions of Seneca Creek State Park, including the Lake Area off Clopper Road in Gaithersburg, remain open.

As of Aug. 18, the beaver has not been captured. DNR Wildlife and Heritage Service staff, Natural Resources Police and local wildlife authorities are continuing the search. Montgomery County Animal Services has been notified.

State authorities said there is no indication of a rabies outbreak in Montgomery County. Two rabid beavers were confirmed more than 36 miles away at Cunningham Falls State Park in Frederick County, where a 13-year-old swimmer was attacked July 26 and a 19-year-old fisherman was bitten Aug. 5. Both animals tested positive for rabies.

DNR said the Seneca Creek incident is not considered related to the Frederick County cases, citing the distance between the parks and the home range and social behavior of beavers.

Scott Peterson, a Montgomery County government spokesperson, told Bethesda Magazine on Aug. 14 that rabies cases are uncommon in the county, averaging about two or three per year. If an animal is believed to have rabies, the county will alert the public, he said.

What residents should know

The U.S. Department of Agriculture advises maintaining a minimum distance of 25 yards from beavers in the wild. Residents should avoid the closed area near Berryville Road and Route 28 until wildlife officials capture the animal.

Before this summer, Maryland's last recorded beaver attacks occurred in 2021 and 2015.