- The nutria, an invasive species native to South America, is wreaking havoc on U.S. wetlands and winning over the hearts of everyday people.
- The cost to remove them from one state was more than $30 million, and other states are struggling to find a solution.
- In some states, residents are encouraged to hunt the nutria and eat them.
Coastal states are facing a looming challenge in the eradication of the nutria that are destroying wetlands, and not only because of the rodent's invasive tendencies.
The large rodent is winning the hearts of everyday people, too.
The nutria, which is said to look like a cross between a rat and a beaver and can live up to 10 years, exceeds 20 pounds and possesses vibrant orange teeth, is a rodent native to South America and was introduced to the United States in the 1800s as part of the fur trade. However, once the trade plummeted, nutria began to wreak havoc on the U.S. coastal environments they populated and have posed a problem ever since. One state on the East Coast spent millions working to eradicate the species, and others are considering following suit. However, officials are finding that some people are becoming infatuated with the critter.
In Maryland, the United States Department of Agriculture worked methodically along coastlines to trap and remove the invasive animals. The project cost more than $30 million and took more than 20 years to accomplish, according to an article by the Wall Street Journal. The species was deemed eradicated in 2015. Other states are looking to Maryland as an example of how to eradicate the species that destroys almond trees, golf courses and native plants in wetlands, but they face myriad challenges.
Oregon officials have considered a similar approach to Maryland's eradication plan, but the states' differing environmental makeups make it tougher for Oregon to eradicate the nutria. In Maryland, wildlife officials worked up Chesapeake Bay and had jurisdiction to remove the nutria.
"A lot of ours are on private property," Rick Boatner, an invasive species wildlife integrity supervisor with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), told Newsweek. "So it makes it a lot more difficult if you have one neighbor that loves them and the next neighbor that hates them. You always have a refuge for them."
And people do love the rodents. One nutria in Louisiana lives with two caretakers that rescued it alongside a roadside in 2020 after discovering the nutria's mother and siblings had been killed by a vehicle, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The nutria, aptly named Neuty, gained national acclaim when a rumor spread that Fox News host Tucker Carlson was considering broadcasting Neuty on the show. The nutria's media appearance has not been confirmed.
Boatner said peoples' fondness of the nutria is changing the species' habits. Once nocturnal, nutria has adapted to humans and now are active during the day.
Another negative attribute of the nutria is its burrowing activity.
"People like to build houses right next to creeks, so they [the nutria] are undermining the houses with their burrowing activity," Boatner said. "They're also a grazing species, so they completely graze those [the native plants] off and turn the area into a mud plat."
To remove the nutria from Oregon, Boatner said it would cost "millions, easy".
"It would be a major effort to do that and take a small army," Boatner said.
Removal efforts
Oregon doesn't have plans to eradicate the nutria through a statewide effort, but California is acting aggressively. California wildlife officials are unsure of the total cost for the project, which has already spanned six years.
Since 2017, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has removed over 3,400 nutria from its population. CDFW observes camera stations, traps the nutria and continues to monitor the area after removing the nutria. CDFW also is currently working on utilizing scent dogs to detect the nutria, as well as utilizing satellite-telemetered technology.
"We won't know the size and extent of the full population until after we've successfully found and removed them all and spent several years verifying that success, which is still several years down the road," a CDFW spokesperson told Newsweek.
"We do feel like our efforts are trending in the right direction," CDFW added.
"They taste pretty good"
Some states like Louisiana are putting a bounty on the rodent and paying citizens a set fee for every tail they bring to officials, but Boatner said the method is an expensive one and doesn't usually solve the problem as the nutria repopulate faster than people hunt them.
Boatner said Oregon doesn't plan to implement a bounty program in Oregon for the nutria, but as the rodents are fit for human consumption, people still hunt them.
The nutria are identified as a predatory species in Oregon, meaning landowners are allowed to kill or trap them.
"I would encourage people to eat them," Boatner said. "They taste pretty good."
Boatner said nutria are best when prepared in a crockpot and shredded, like pulled pork.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrK6enZtjsLC5jqumnZ2eqcBuu9GapaCdXamypsDHZq6rnZOgtq%2BzjJ6lr6GipLuusc2tZLChnqO2r7OMoZyaqqSoenKDmG1qaW8%3D