Man killed by beaver in Belarus

MINKOVICHI, Belarus, April 12 (UPI) -- A man in Belarus was killed in an attack by a beaver he was photographing along the side of a rural road in the Breast region, wildlife officials said.

The beaver bit the 60-year-old man in the leg, severing a major artery, Sergei Shtyk of the regional wildlife agency told the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

"The man's friends tried to bandage him and find a doctor in a nearby village but he died from blood loss before help arrived," Shtyk said.

The Daily Telegraph said Eurasian beaver are fairly common in the area and rarely attack. But, Shtyk said, the rodents have powerful front teeth and have been known to take off people's fingers in the past.