Scouts Stone Rabid Beaver to Death

If they handed out merit badges for bravery during a beaver attack, the boys of Troop 32 would be first in line. One of the leaders of the upstate New York troop was swimming in the Delaware River when he was attacked by the rabid animal. "It came through my legs and attached itself to my chest," he tells the Poughkeepsie Journal. "I thought it was a giant carp fish." He was bitten six times as he tried to fight the beaver off. He eventually managed to grab it by the jaw and bring it to shore, where Scouts stoned it to death as their leader lay injured.

"We started throwing rocks at it. We could see it was still dangerous," one teen says. "We threw like 20-pound rocks on it. It took a while to die," another Scout tells the New York Daily News. Health officials confirmed that the 45-pound beaver was rabid. The Scout leader was treated for multiple puncture wounds and has received more than 20 rabies shots. "I’m still a bit sore, but it could have been worse,” he says. “I’m just glad none of the boys were hurt." (More beavers stories.)