Nutria Mouse – Photo: Wall Street Journal
Many states in the US are taking steps to get rid of the nutria rat before it destroys local wetlands. But some states, like Louisiana, have been devastated.
According to the National Invasive Species Information Center, the nutria is a large, semi-aquatic, orange-toothed rodent native to South America. Nutria were brought to America in 1889 for their feathers. It is also known as coypu, nutria mouse or swamp beaver.
Nutria rats typically weigh around 5 kg–10 kg (and often exceed 9 kg). Nutria can eat a quarter of its body weight in food in a day.
Most nutria rats live less than 3 years in the wild, with some living longer, and a female nutria can give birth to up to 200 pups in a short life span.
according to the magazine wall street journal and the Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management, nutria like to live in swamps and wreak havoc on the region’s ecosystems.
The US Geological Survey states that wetlands are very important. Plants in wetlands help prevent erosion of large areas of shoreline, also providing food and shelter for many animals. When nutria rats disrupt these natural systems, they are simultaneously causing damage to water resources, property and the environment.
In 2015, the state of Maryland was invaded by nutria rats. It took the state government 20 years and $30 million to kill 14,000 nutria spread over hundreds of thousands of acres.
Maryland’s methods include trapping with nets and chip-tagging some animals to help environmentalists find more of their species. Now many states like California are adopting this approach.
Congressman Josh Harder of California said, “This is a real problem and we need to act quickly before waterways are completely invaded.”
The state of Louisiana, which has been severely damaged by this rodent, offers a reward of $6 per animal to the catcher. The state also encourages residents to kill and eat these animals which are said to taste like rabbit.
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