A Massachusetts man managed to survive a life-or-death attack by a wild beaver that left him covered with injuries all across his body.
Mark Pieraccini, 73, from Greenfield, had been swimming in a Franklin County pond when he was set upon by a wild beaver on September 6, according to The Republican.
In the savage attack, Pieraccini was left with numerous puncture wounds, lacerations over his body, a torn tendon on one of his fingers and flesh that had been torn from his arm and leg.
The outlet added that he fractured his knuckle on one hand, which could have occurred from when he punched the beaver in a bid to get free.
After making it out of the lake safely, Pieraccini was treated for his wounds and took medicine for rabies.
Speaking to The Republican, Pieraccini said he got into a prolonged fight - lasting as long as five minutes.
He added: "At some point, I said to myself, 'If I stop and fight him one more time, I'm going to drown.'"
Desperate to get away, Pieraccini quickly swam about 40 yards back to shore.
But, the beaver followed him biting his legs, arms, back, and buttocks as he continued to swim back to shore.
Beaver attacks in the state and elsewhere in North America are rare, although they can happen.
According to Mass.Gov, the beaver population in Massachusetts has tripled since 1996, which has led to encounters between people and animals.
Newsweek has contacted Mass Wildlife for comment.
As beaver populations grow and come into contact with more people across North America, they have proven to have disrupted daily life in several communities.
Earlier this year, beavers knocked out the internet for 900 people in Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia, Canada.
It was found a 4.5-inch thick tube that delivered an internet connection for the residents in the area had been bitten through.
Liz Sauvé, of the telecommunications company Telus, said in an email statement to Candian news network CTV News: "Beavers have chewed through our fiber cable at multiple points, causing extensive damage."
Beavers are also making a comeback in Britain, where they were hunted to extinction for their meat and pelts hundreds of years ago.
Last year, beavers were born in the English county of Essex for the first time in 400 years, according to conservationists.
The Wildwood Trust said it was the first extinct mammal to be reintroduced into the wild in the U.K.
