A Belarus beaver bit a man to death as he tried to take a photo of it at Lake Shestakov.

The man was on a fishing trip with friends when the attack took place. The beaver pounced on him and bit him after he approached the animal for a picture.

His friends tried to stop him bleeding from his thigh, but the beaver had severed one of his main arteries and he quickly bled to death.

Experts say beaver attacks are rare. They mature at two years and normally then leave their colony to find a mate. This is the time they are at their most dangerous.

They also defend their territory by attacking other beavers, but will generally avoid biting or attacking humans.

Beavers have adapted incisor teeth for gnawing wood as well as powerful lower jaw muscles.

While attacks on humans are uncommon, they are not unheard of.

'Crazed'

Last July, two girls aged eight and 11 were attacked by a "crazed" beaver while they were swimming in a lake in Virginia.

They were left with bites and scratches to their legs. The beaver was shot dead by their uncle.

A month later, a Boy Scout leader from New York was attacked while swimming in the Delaware River.

Normand Brousseau was swimming in Pennsylvania when the beaver swam through his legs and bit him on his chest, leg, buttocks, arm, hand and torso.

He eventually managed to grab the animal and hold its jaw closed. The scouts killed the beaver with a rock and a doctor later confirmed the animal had rabies.

Earlier this week, a beaver attack filmed by Alexander Targon in Russia was uploaded to YouTube. Targon followed the beaver until it turned and attacked him.