Seneca Creek State Park (Maryland DNR / @MarylandDNR)
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - A beaver that was found dead at Seneca Creek State Park in Montgomery County tested positive for rabies days after a girl was attacked.
What we know:
Maryland wildlife officials are not able to confirm whether it was the same animal involved in the attack on a 10-year-old girl. They are continuing to search for other rabid animals in the area.
The update comes a day after Maryland officials expanded closures within the park.
Roughly a mile of trail and river access near Berryville Road remains closed off while a licensed trapper enters the restricted area to capture and test additional beavers. The rest of Seneca Creek State Park, including the lake area, remains open to the public.
The incident marked the third beaver attack reported in the region recently. Two prior attacks occurred at Cunningham Falls State Park in Frederick County, more than 36 miles away, on July 26 and August 5.
READ MORE | 3rd beaver attack in Maryland prompts closures at Seneca Creek State Park
"It’s definitely very uncommon," said Maryland Department of Natural Resources Furbearer Biologist Joshua Tabora. "To say the quiet part out loud, this is now the third kind of attack in addition to the first two that happened in Cunningham Falls State Park. We’re definitely trying to take a really detailed close look at any of the similarities between the sites, but so far, the broader trends kind of evade us."
The Source: The information in this report is from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.