“Dear PoPville,
Sunday morning I happened to look out of my window and saw this creature crossing the street. It doesn’t appear to be a gopher, mole, nutria, or DC councilmember but it looks like a huge rodent. I only had time to use my phone with crappie digital zoom. Any idea what this is, PoPville?”
Ed. Note: I guessed beaver, after the recent spotting in Van Ness but OP responded: “The tail wasn’t flat and leathery looking, like a beaver, which threw me off. It was furry and dark.”