AP, Reuters - September 25, 2008 - Corvallis, OR
Officials here are at a loss to explain a bizarre incident which occurred in this sleepy northwest community. Initial reports indicate that some two dozen California tourists were viciously and repeatedly attacked by a group of crazed, rabid beavers. Apparently the tourists were sightseeing in the area and had exited their tour buses for exercise and refreshments. Inexplicably and evidently without provocation, the poor, defenseless tourists were violently attacked en mass by a group of rabid beavers.
Officials' preliminary conclusion is that all of the beavers must have been rabid to make such an attack. Beavers are generally solitary, peace-loving animals not prone to attack humans. One official did remark that the tourists may have inadvertently wandered into a beaver nesting area. Beavers have been known to show aggression when they sense that their nests or young are threatened.
Eyewitnesses at the scene could barely describe the horrific and horrible attacks. They said the beavers were relentless in their attacks. They just kept attacking, biting and clawing the helpless tourists. One witness said there was blood and body parts strewn over an area about the size of a football field! There are no known survivors from the group of tourists, but the bus drivers were not injured. Observers stated that the drivers escaped without being attacked because they remained near their buses. Officials are continuing recovery of the bodies and investigating the cause of this disaster. In a separate report, some observers stated that a small group of wild dogs watched the attack from some distance but gave no indication what attracted the
dawgs.
Beavers 27 ….. Tourists 21