Nutria
nu·tri·a (nü-trē-ə) | coy·pu (kȯi-ˈpü)
Nutria, Myocastor Coypus, are large semi-aquatic rodents indigenous to South America. The original range included Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. In the 1930’s nutria were imported into Louisiana for the fur farming industry and were released, either intentionally or accidentally into the Louisana coastal marshes. Nutria are herbivores and feed particularly on wetland plants. Nutria have caused extensive damage to Louisiana’s coastal wetlands due to their feeding activity.
