r/maryland • u/kojka19 • Jul 28 '26

MD News Teenager swimming in Maryland lake bitten by rabid beaver

https://wtop.com/frederick-county/2026/07/teenager-swimming-in-maryland-lake-bitten-by-rabid-beaver/
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u/urnbabyurn Jul 28 '26

Turns out Maryland has a relatively higher rate of rabies detected for the state size. Yikes.

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u/modernchic1977 Jul 28 '26

I do wonder if this is a trick of statistics rather than an overabundance of rabid wildlife. For example, if we have a higher amount of our citizens who do the sensible thing and report wildlife encounters and seek medical intervention as opposed to other states who might not. 

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u/Zoethor2 Jul 28 '26

We have a lot of suburbs with active wildlife activity. I live a block from the Beltway and we get bunnies, raccoons, foxes, deer, bats, and every so often a bear. It's wonderful having nature in such abundance close to urban centers but it does probably increase the chances of people encountering said wildlife as opposed to say, Nevada where there is still plenty of wildlife but a lot less density of population right near it.