Possible Clues:

• Beaver lookalike
• Rodent officer accepts year primarily underground
• Shy bear, so to speak, or aquatic mammal
• Baby creature almost alongside timid creature
• Animal is a shy bear, by the sound of it
• Semiaquatic rodent
• Shy literary bear, do we hear, or beaver-like rodent?
• Cat losing seconds repeatedly chasing shy rodent
• Bashful cat half consumed large rodent
• Copy jerky socially acceptable beast