Invasion of the Nutria

[urbpan]

Nutria have spread to New Jersey!

The nutria is a very large aquatic rodent, introduced from South America into the American South for the fur trade. Once introduced it began to escape and spread, causing ecological damage as it went. It's an omnivore that ruins native aquatic plant beds and feasts on native crustaceans. In its own environment it serves as food for anacondas and caimans, but north of the Carolinas there's nothing remotely like these predators to keep it in check. It's been a problem from New Orleans to the Chesapeake Bay for years, and now it's spread past the Mason-Dixon line to the country's most densely populated state. (Feral nutria populations also exist in spots in the Pacific Northwest.)

In appearance, the nutria resembles a giant muskrat, but with a round, ratlike tail instead of the muskrat's rudderlike vertically flattened tail. They are not related to muskrats or beaver, but are in the rodent suborder that includes capybara and guinea pigs. Despite the deliberately alarming headline, they are also not closely related to rats:

GIANT RATS INVADE NEW JERSEY!

Animal Diversity Web entry on Nutria.

Comments

[bleppo.livejournal.com]

Not the dreaded R.O.U.S's!

[mizdarkgirl.livejournal.com]

I hear that they are tasty!
This site has recipes for Jambalaya and Gumbo!
http://www.nutria.com/site14.php

[cyborgsuzy.livejournal.com]

I've seen a ton of nutria in the Willamette Valley (at least the area around Corvallis). They come out during the day and don't seem to be very afraid of humans. It'd be cool if they actually tasted good, because they'd probably be easy to catch.

Quick, Someone get a Big Pot on the Fire

[ziactrice.livejournal.com]

I second the 'let's eat them!' suggestion. I have eaten squirrel stew, which is really quite tasty. I think nutria would be great - plus, you can do something with the skins. Hmmmm. I wonder if hunting them requires a license? I wonder if they can be netted, or if you'd have to shoot them?

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

oh, that is awesome!

[rudezombie.livejournal.com]

I'm not too concerned. In five or six years the entire state will be covered with suburban sprawl to the point where these giant mutant rats won't have any place to hide or anything left to eat anyway.

Or maybe they will. I dunno. Before this, the only time I'd heard of them was on an episode of Insomniac where Dave Attell rode along with the guys who's job it is to go around in a pickup truck all night with spotlights & rifles and kill the things.

[sin-agua.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I saw some of these in Cincinnati back in 1989-90. I was taking pictures near a creek and spotted two or three of them. I remember thinking "DAMN that's the biggest woodchuck I ever saw!" then went home and looked up similar rodentia. I'd never heard of "nutria" at that point - sounded like some European health drink.

They look like a cross between a beaver and a rat, imo.

Are they good eating? I would worry about what THEY'VE been eating, though... :(

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

Incompetent louts! They're early. I specifically ordered them to begin the invasion on February second, the festival of the marmot and to have full control by the seventh, the beginning of the Year of the Rat. Someone in scheduling shall surely rue the day!

Year of the rat... Ha! You all wish it was going to be just a year.

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

dude. we saw that on some show and thought that our dog charlie would freaking love that job. swimming? giant rats? he'd be all over it.

[aemiis-zoo.livejournal.com]

We definitely had nutria (coypu) in Roseburg, OR and of course we have them here in sunny Florida!

[hhw]

I've seen them in Southeast Portland.

[ndozo.livejournal.com]

I know ... let's import some really big anacondas to control the nutria. New Jersey would be even nicer with giant snakes to eat the giant rats. Too bad they don't eat water hyacinth.

[ndozo.livejournal.com]

That's funny!

[pipu.livejournal.com]

You forgot to mention their most notable feature: bright orange teeth! They look like Doritos.

We have TONS of nutria in Eugene, especially near the river (duh). My office is on the river and the lawns and walkways get absolutely covered in "nute poops".

I miss my bike commute, partly because I don't get my daily dose of nutria sightings.

eating invasive species

[ideath.livejournal.com]

This page (http://magazine.audubon.org/features0410/gourmet.html) has a recipe for "Nutria, Wild Boar, and Crawfish Egg Roll Towers" - the idea being that eating invasive species is not just delicious, but serves a higher purpose as well. There's also a recipe for kudzu sorbet.

Re: eating invasive species

[(Anonymous)]

Mmmmmmmm! Tasty!
Eat them all!

Re: eating invasive species

[mizdarkgirl.livejournal.com]

That was me!

Re: Quick, Someone get a Big Pot on the Fire

[mizdarkgirl.livejournal.com]

Nutria/Coypu used to be a "Cash Crop" so for the most part, you need a license to hunt them but they are far more liberal in their limits.

Florida has no bag limit
http://www.nps.gov/archive/bicy/hunting.htm

Firearm and/or bow hunting also allowed on Sundays in Maryland
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/huntersguide/furbearers.asp

Washington State
http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-245750.html

Oklahoma
http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/regs/huntregs8.htm

[buboniclou.livejournal.com]

OH NOEZ soon they'll be in New York :(

nutria cooked

[(Anonymous)]

I suspect they would taste good grilled with onion. Supper anyone?

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nutria in New England ...

[elíshía walukevích-sateríale (from livejournal.com)]

.
Does anybody know if nutria are found in New England. I was walking across campus the other day (Massachusetts) and there was a large rodent sitting on the bank of our pond. It had a long skinny tail and was a little smaller than a full grown cat ... I am positive it was not a beaver, woodchuck, groundhog, or large rat. I walked towards it to investigate and it quickly dived into the water and swam away. Having seen documentaries about this animal I am fairly positive that this is what it was; but I have never heard of them coming this far north.

Thanks!

Re: nutria in New England ...

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

If it was smaller than a cat, it was almost certainly a muskrat. If there are nutria in Massachusetts I would hope that someone would have told me by now!