(Update: ‘It started charging at us’: Man who punched beaver recalls attack on trail)

A beaver bit a man as he stood at the edge of a lake in Falls Church, Va., and the man punched the animal in the head.

Police in Fairfax County said the incident happened Sunday evening when the 52-year-old man was standing near Fairview Lake on Montauk Court and New Providence Drive, just off Lee Highway near defense contractor General Dynamics’ facility.

The beaver came out of the water, police said, and bit the man’s shoe. He tried to get the beaver off and punched it in “the head several times.”

The beaver’s bite did not break the man’s skin, but he suffered a cut to the hand that he used to punch the beaver, police said.

Authorities said the beaver was not caught, so it was not tested for rabies. The man is expected to receive treatment for rabies as a precaution, police said.