I've been riding the same route to the station, with only the most minor variations, every work day, for over fifteen years. But I still see something new once in a while.
This evening, about 4:30, it was drizzling lightly, getting dark, I'm riding my half mile stretch of the Delaware and Raritan canal, and I see a large round thing at the edge the canal where there hasn't been one before. Large, like a couple feet long, over a foot wide, sticking out of the water be almost a foot, dark gray... and as I rode right by it, I saw it was an animal. Furry, wet, and preoccupied. It didn't see me. I stopped and looked back, and it still hadn't seen me, so I went and got a closer look. Beaver! Intently chewing on a piece of wood. Then it saw me and vanished with a sploosh, stayed under a little while, then surfaced and swam away in no particular hurry.
This is suburban New Jersey! Okay, I've seen some beaver damaged trees, but this critter was almost tame. I've seen something swimming on the canal before, but it was very shy, never let me get a good look. And I've seen woodchuck in that area. Woodchuck are not supposed to swim, but I wasn't sure. Well, this beastie was much bigger than any woodchuck... And it was gnawing on a piece of wood.