A man has died after being attacked by a beaver in Belarus.

The unnamed 60-year-old fisherman bled to death after the animal sliced one of his major arteries.

Beaver attacks have been increasing in Belarus, with reports that the rodents are being spotted closer to residents, shops and schools in the country.

"The character of the wound was totally shocking," said village doctor Leonty Sulim, according ot The Guardian. "We had never run into anything like this before."

The fisherman was reportedly driving with his friends towards the Shestakovskoye lake when he spotted the beaver. He is said to have stopped the car to take a picture of it. The man is said to have grabbed the beaver which in turn attacked him by biting him in the leg that severed his artery.

Despite attempts to stop the bleeding by his friends, the man was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The beaver population is said to have increased three times in the past ten years. Wildlife experts say the population now stands at 80,000, a far cry from when it was once on the verge of extinction when they were hunted in Europe. New laws banning the hunting of beavers led to the rodents' population growing in Europe.

The Belarusian Emergency Services have tended to many victims that have been attacked by beavers.

Beavers can grow up to a meter in length and weigh as much as 65 lbs.

Watch a video of a beaver below: