ROANOKE, Va. (WSET) — Two canoers rescued a baby beaver over the weekend.

Two people were canoeing the Sandy River Reservoir in Prince Edward County, Virginia, when they noticed a baby beaver all alone along the banks.

The kit saw them and reportedly swam directly to their canoe and refused to return to shore. The canoers then turned the kit over to the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center.

"With the recent heavy rains and widespread flooding in our region, we believe its den was washed away," explained wildlife experts. "Tragically separating the kit from its mother."

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Wildlife experts with SVWC say they determined the kit to be just around 1 week old, and that it also had pneumonia and was slightly underweight, which is reportedly common for orphaned beavers.

Experts say they immediately administered antibiotics and formula, and after just a few days, the kit's lungs already sound better, and it is beginning to put on weight.

SVWC says American Beaver kits require two years of care in rehabilitation before they’re ready to be released back into the wild, and that the cost of specialized food, housing, medical treatment and enrichment for just one kit can add up to thousands of dollars.

Donations to the wildlife center can be made here.