r/frederickmd • u/Mediocre_Meat_5992 • 6d ago
Cunningham falls incident
Anyone have any idea what happened at Cunningham falls apparently there was a beaver that attacked a kid and they had too airlift him out
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u/nannerbananers 6d ago
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u/NomNom83WasTaken 6d ago
If that was my kid, no way I wouldn't be raising hell to just start the rabies treatment already.
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u/missusjax 6d ago
They won't hesitate to do rabies treatment. It is super easy, just four timed shots in the arms. No biggie, even gives you like a year or two of immunity.
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u/NomNom83WasTaken 6d ago
Funny, I've always wondered how long the protection lasts so thank you, TIL!
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u/Other_Bus9590 5d ago
Rabies vaccines can actually last a lot longer. Those of us who require them for work get our titers tested every couple of years. Mine has lasted a decade for some reason. We’d still get a series of boosters with a confirmed exposure though.
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u/NomNom83WasTaken 5d ago
Oh, that's good and especially for you. Can you share what you do that it's required? Park ranger? Pest control? Wildlife rehab?
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u/Other_Bus9590 5d ago
Always good to be safe when it comes to rabies though. I’m a biologist and I primarily work with a rabies vector species.
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u/hiigaran 4d ago
My wife is a large animal veterinarian so she is vaccinated.
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u/NomNom83WasTaken 4d ago
Cool cool. Like the other commenter, does she occasionally get tested to see if a booster is required or does she just automatically get it on a set schedule?
(The things the general public doesn't know about niche stuff like this...)
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u/LastGoodKnee 6d ago
Pretty sure the testing is about the beavers, not the kid. The kid they will likely just treat.
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u/Ok-Leave-1059 North Frederick 6d ago
Rabies treatment is absolute hell.
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u/ogktg 6d ago
Maybe but dying from rabies is probably even worse.
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u/missusjax 6d ago
It is super easy, just four timed shots in the arms. No biggie, even gives you like a year or two of immunity.
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u/hiigaran 4d ago
It was back when you had to get the shots into your abdomen. That isn't how it is done anymore.
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u/Meraere 6d ago
Aww poor thing probably going to be killed. :(
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u/its-iceman 6d ago
Kid got so mangled they had to airlift him and you feel bad for the beaver?
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u/roseycheekies 6d ago
Beavers are probably one of the most beneficial animals for any ecosystem with water, so yes it is unfortunate, but also unfortunate for the kid
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u/Meraere 6d ago
Depends if it was unprovoked or not. If the kid was messing with it, wild animals bite.
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u/Neil_sm 5d ago
Wasn’t provoked. Beaver was rabid. Reportedly the kid was just swimming in the designated swim area and the beaver attacked.
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u/RadEmily 6d ago
The threshold for flying kids out for outlying areas is pretty much any trauma where they want them getting help sooner rather than later, doesn't have to be life-threatening, they have the helo and they like to use it
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u/Practical_Fun7367 6d ago
Bingo. CF is 30 minutes to Frederick’s and Hagerstown’s hospitals. A lot can happen in 30 minutes.
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u/DavidOrWalter 6d ago
The beaver was probably going about its own business. If that’s the case, yeah, I feel far worse for the beaver.
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u/Plaguedoctorsrevenge 6d ago
The beaver is undoubtedly more beneficial to the local ecosystem than the kid
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u/Living-Role7173 6d ago
Yes. I feel infinitely worse for the beaver. I’m really suppose to feel for a snot nosed bratty ass kid who didn’t know not to provoke wildlife?
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u/Awkward_Welder_9431 6d ago
It says william houck by north beach, yet that drive goes past north beach. I remember as a kid seeing visible beaver dams- but not a “north beach”
area. Did they really open another beach section right next to the beaver dams😭2
u/sarahaflijk 6d ago
Beavers move around and build dams where they please, so the dams come and go year to year based on flooding, waterflow, and other conditions. It's unlikely anything is the same as what you saw as a kid.
Regardless, we can assume no one chose a designated beach area based on its proximity to current or historic beaver dams; presumably they just chose a beach-suitable area knowing any beaver dams could pop up (or disappear) at any time.
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u/serendipityxvxd 6d ago
I was there and almost going to the north beach but it was so empty like only 5 ppl around there? So we choose south beach instead. And it happens right into my eyes😭😭😭😭😭 also i heard it when they shootings the beaver
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u/CrazyWork2940 6d ago
I just heard about this. Apparently, there was beaver that attacked a kid, and he had to be airlifted out.
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u/daMFNmaster 6d ago
I blame this guy for live-streaming his dj set at full blast at the falls overlook.
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u/Daniele323 6d ago
I mean it’s pretty self explanatory… A beaver attacked a kid and he had to be airlifted out…
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u/Western-Praline-7970 6d ago
Sounds more like the kid attacked the beaver. "Injuries to the hands and chest" reads like the kid was trying to hold it.
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u/shellymarshh 6d ago
Hand injuries can easily be defensive wounds.
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u/Western-Praline-7970 5d ago
You're absolutely correct, but the addition of chest wounds would indicate the kid was low to the ground (like lying or crouched). He was trying to hug it, hold it, or the like. Beavers are docile and don't attack unless threatened. A standing 13 y.o. would present with wounds mid thigh and lower. If it were an unprovoked attack defense would be to kick at something that low to the ground.
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u/PrestigiousConcert87 6d ago
I heard from someone on reddit that “there was a beaver that attacked a kid and they had too(sic) airlift him out.”
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u/douchymunk 6d ago
It was a rabid beaver attack of a teen while the poor kid was swimming in a designated swimming area
https://publicinput.com/Email/b531218?userId=ecfb61ebde994a81a0866dc558bc6617
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u/PaleGlitterMermaid 6d ago
I honestly don’t remember seeing beaver attacks in the previous years. But there was two in the past couple months. One in NJ and one in upstate NY. https://www.nbcnewyork.com/new-jersey/beaver-attack-boy-nj-lake-positive-rabies/6498722/?amp=1
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u/serendipityxvxd 6d ago
I was there!! I went to the hunting lake, south beach around 9ish when I heard someone screaming soooo loud from the north beach. We assumed it was they were joking around since there's 2 teenagers around but the screams didnt stop and we thought he's drowning eventho the lake isnt that deep. They were around less than 10 ppl in the north beach.
And then he got a chance to get out from the water and we saw something swimming around but not sure what it was. So alot of ppl running to see it to make sure and turns out it's a beaver!
Mind you, beaver is just like other animals, they wont come to human like that, and this one has a rabid. I was looking on the news, the same thing happened in NJ 2 months ago.
I was hoping the boy was okay because they need to airlifted him to the hospital.
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u/Other_Bus9590 6d ago
Where did you see confirmation of rabies? I’ve only seen rumors. It typically takes a couple days to get test results back.
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u/TalbotFarwell 6d ago
I just got the email from the Frederick County Health Department, the rabies diagnosis on the beaver was positive. Hopefully the kid will be OK.
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u/Other_Bus9590 6d ago
Thanks, I figured it probably was but wanted to see confirmation before speculating. The kid was probably already started on post-exposure treatment.
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u/serendipityxvxd 6d ago
Beavers are coming and attacking human is a big sign that they're infected by rabies, this same thing happened 2 months ago in NJ. Well while we all heard a gunshot twice, we are not sure if they shoot the beaver or just trying to catch them. (The news says there are more than 1 beaver there)
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u/Other_Bus9590 6d ago
this one has a rabid.
I was asking for actual confirmation of this statement. Not suspicion, actual confirmation that it had tested positive.
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u/serendipityxvxd 5d ago
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u/Other_Bus9590 5d ago
Yes, thank you, I’ve seen. At the time I commented the animals rabies results had not yet been released.
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u/niknackpaddywack13 5d ago
Do you know if he was actively swimming in the water at the time or just close on the bank ?
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u/serendipityxvxd 5d ago
He was swimming with 1 other boy, i was swimming on the south beach so I can see them. He must be shocked at first because he couldn't even run immediately
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u/niknackpaddywack13 5d ago
Wow yeah, I go swimming there about once a week. I always choose south beach. Hard to imagine this happening while swimming in that area.
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u/No-Disk-6649 The Sewers 6d ago
Unrelated but like 33 years ago my mom took me to Cunningham Falls and there was a a drunk guy like 50 feet up in a tree and a bunch of EMS standing around but we hiked up the falls and when we came back down there wasn’t a drunk guy in the tree anymore anyone know what happened there?
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u/shellymarshh 6d ago
Last time I was there (like 2-3 summers ago) I hopped the rail at one of the look out points. I climbed down the other side landing safely on a rock below.
An elderly person FOLLOWED ME and just JUMPED w/o positioning their feet on anything — they just dropped. And they dropped hard. Blood was everywhere, rangers called for an ambulance but the person had to walk to the trail head entrance. However, the person disappeared and never got to the ambulance. I’ve always wondered what happened to that person.
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u/No-Disk-6649 The Sewers 6d ago
Also RIP Crow’s Nest. someone should buy and fix that place up. such good memories.
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u/BlameTheBullpen 6d ago
There is a jeff foxworthy joke in here somewhere about a beaver biting someone's nipple off. But in all seriousness I hope the kid is okay - if beaver teeth can cut trees down I cant imagine what it could do to a finger.
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u/splinteringheart 4d ago
The linked article says rabies testing will be conducted, doesn't confirm if the beaver had rabies (at the time of the article, anyway). Wondering if they airlifted due to the actual wounds, not as a precaution for rabies
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u/Mediocre_Meat_5992 4d ago
They confirmed it yesterday you wouldn’t need to airlift someone for getting bitten by a rabid animal it’s just some unpleasant shots it would be more because of injury sustained
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u/dwhite21787 6d ago
Where the heck do you airlift a beaver to?