As we were fishing down the dam shoreline, I was a bit surprised to see a large beaver surface perhaps 30 feet from the boat. He didn't seem very frightened, but eventually took a dive after we got a bit closer.

After another 40 feet, the critter resurfaced and faced us. He let us get closer this time, maybe within 15 feet, before taking off.

A few minutes later, the beaver resurfaced even closer to us. He swam calmly parallel to our course, as though escorting us to our destination, coming within 8 or 10 feet.

We haven't fed the beaver or interacted with it at all. Is this behavior unusual, or just a testimony to my immense personal charm?

anthropic, that's not the usual behavior one would expect from a beaver.. Normally they prefer to keep their distance and when protecting territory or threatened in any way they slap their tail on the surface just as they dive.
I guess if he/she doesn't feel threatened then it'll just do it's thing, just a bit abnormal to allow anyone to get 8-10 ft from them without showing signs of wanting to "get outta dodge"..

Gotta be the charm.

Be careful of rabies

A guy was killed by a beaver not too long ago. They are powerful and interesting creatures. I trapped out the ones living in my pond as they were damming the overflow and causing the water level to flood over the banks.

You might see them as cute and cuddly until they tunnel into your dam and require costly repairs to fix it. BTDT

They are fun to watch, kind of like an otter... Then you realize the damage they are doing.

Beaver is good eating. Slow-roast, then finish on a hot bbq grille. Absolutely delicious.

That was my theory.

they were "cute and cuddly" until they started chewing down trees around my pond

so this guy had to go...

What Zep said.^^^ I don't know how close your pond is to your yard but your favorite shade tree close to your pond will be eliminated overnite when they decide that it's time.