Nutria rat in georgia. Nutria also known as coypu or swamp rats are large rodents that live in areas with lots of freshwater. We saw this along the river just before the outdoor movie at riverside park tonight. Because of those similar traits nutrias are often called river rats.
Links with information about the nutria myocastor coypus. The nutria myocastor coypus is a brownish gray rodent that hails from south america. To protect the valuable resources of marylands chesapeake bay the chesapeake bay nutria eradication project cbnep began in 2002 to permanently remove invasive nutria from the marshes of the delmarva peninsula and to protect enhance and restore the aquatic.
Mammal links c2020 digital library of georgia. Georgia wildlife links general. Myocastor coypus the greek words mys mouse and kastor beaver led to the genus name myocastor.
Later leaned it was a nutria. The latin form of coypu is the south american indian name for this animal. It also builds beds beneath overhanging or collapsed marsh vegetation as places to rest feed or give birth to young.
Coypu coypu rat swamp beaver nutria nutria rat english nutria ragondin french biberratte sumpfbiber german coipu spanish ratao do banhado portuguese brazil scientific name. General information georgia museum of natural history photo and narrative description mammals of texas online external resources. State and federal agencies as well as individuals relocated nutria in the 1940s to alabama arkansas georgia kentucky maryland mississippi oklahoma louisiana and texas to control vegetation.
The nutria can often be seen moving about in the daytime but it is most active at night. The nutria myocastor coypus is a large dark colored semiaquatic rodent that is native to southern south americaat first glance a casual observer may misidentify nutria as either a beaver castor canadensis or a muskrat ondatra zibethicus especially when it is swimmingthis superficial resemblance ends when a more detailed study of the animal is made. The effect of nutria on marsh loss in the lower eastern shore of maryland usgs usgs factsheet south american nutria destroy marshes pdf nutria gulf of mexico program nutria louisiana department of wildlife and fisheries myocastor coypus global invasive species database nutria in north america usgs national wetlands research center.
A sort of river rat that destroys vegetation and is considered a threat to wetlands. When the nutria fur trade collapsed in the united states in the early 1940s business owners simply let the animals go free.