Almost nothing can ruffle a DC commuter. Year-long delays? Same old same old. Sharing a bench with a harried congressman and woman? Yawn.

On Wednesday afternoon, though, a baby beaver who wandered into the Van Ness-UDC Metro stop delivered a charm offensive fit for an experienced politician, stopping travelers in their tracks and inspiring the kind of publicity most campaigners can only dream of.

“He was a little cutie,” Scott Giacoppo, vice president of the Washington Humane Society, told the Washington Post. Video footage from his visit shows him wandering around the station, sniffing the ground and climbing up the neon sneaker of a young constituent.

Giacoppo theorizes the beaver may have been stranded after a recent flood, and entered the station in search of a drink. After his brief tour of the Metro, the DC Humane Society delivered him to the nearest beaver transit station—a nearby stream bed. After a long day of baby kissing, he deserved a quick commute home.

Every day, we track down a fleeting wonder—something amazing that’s only happening right now. Have a tip for us? Tell us about it! Send your temporary miracles to cara@atlasobscura.com.