You saw a furry, brown critter. So, was it a beaver?
This is a muskrat.
Muskrats are smaller than beavers with long, skinny, hairy tails, but they do often share habitat. When they swim at the surface, muskrats move their tails from side-to-side in the water. This is the easiest way to identify a muskrat vs. beaver in the water when size can be tricky to determine.
This is a groundhog.
Groundhogs are smaller than beavers, often lighter in color, and with stubbier, furry tails. The biggest difference though, is habitat. If there is no water nearby, you have likely seen a groundhog. They are also more common.
This is a nutria.
Nutria have very obvious long, white whiskers and skinny tails like a muskrat. They are smaller than beavers, and are found in limited parts of the Mid-Atlantic.
This is an otter.
Otters have longer, more slender bodies and more pointed heads than beavers. They also move differently through the water.
This is a platypus.
Platypuses don’t live in North America. But they kind of look like backwards beavs?
This is a beav.
