Beware of the beaver.

Authorities say a fisherman in eastern Europe was reportedly attacked and killed by a beaver as he tried to take its picture.

According to The Telegraph, the unidentified victim was fishing on Lake Shestakov in Belarus when the furry tree-muncher launched a savage attack, biting the man’s thigh and severing a main artery.

Following the attack, two friends who were with the victim during the incident desperately tried to stop the flow of blood but were unable to do so as the man bled to death.

Wikipedia notes beavers are nocturnal, semi-aquatic rodents known for using their powerful teeth to chomp through trees to build dams on rivers or streams.

Attacks by the normally gentle creatures are extremely rare.

However, experts say that if the animals are rabid or feel threatened or cornered, they can quickly become violent and go into attack mode.

Last year in Pennsylvania, a Boy Scout leader was attacked by a beaver as he swam in the Delaware River.

As reported by The Inquisitr at the time, the rabid beaver began to bite the scout leader in the leg and then again in his buttocks, arm, hand, and waist until the scout leader’s adrenaline kicked in and he was able to pry the creature off.

The leader then managed to grab it by the jaw and bring it to shore, where Scouts stoned it to death as their leader lay injured.

Earlier this week, a separate beaver attack filmed by Alexander Targon in Russia was uploaded to YouTube.

Targon reportedly followed the beaver until it turned and attacked him.

A video of that attack can be viewed below: