Is it a beaver? A rat? Somehow it’s both. Nutria have been spotted in Lady Bird Lake and other Austin waterways for years. The swimming rodents are part of life in Texas. Here’s what you need to know about the creatures:
❌ Nutria Are Invasive
Despite looking cute and cuddly, nutria are not good for the habitats they occupy. Nutria are considered an invasive species because of their burrowing. Their burrowing can cause damage to flood-level levees, reservoir dam foundations, and buildings. The burrowing can also lead to erosion in streams, lakes, and ditches.
Nutria can also be damaging to crops like corn, milo, sugar, beets, alfalfa, wheat, barley, oats, peanuts, some melons, and many vegetables, according to Texas A&M AgriLife.
“The estimated value of sugarcane and rice damaged by nutria each year has ranged from several thousand dollars to over $1 million,” the Texas Invasive Species Institute says.
🦫 You May Mistake Them for Beavers
Nutria are short, robust, and have long, round tails. Some may grow to be up to 20 pounds and their hair is shades of dark brown. The rodents have buck-teeth similar to beavers, but their teeth are a yellow-ish orange color. Classified as semi-aquatic, the animals have hind webbed-feet.
⌛ Nutria Have Been Around for Years
Nutria were brought to the United States from South America in 1889 for their fur. But the fur market collapsed in the 1940s, leading ranchers to release the animals into the wild. At one point, nutria were sold to help control weed growth, but they ended up also destroying native aquatic vegetation, crops, and wetland areas, according to Texas A&M AgriLife.
Nutria ended up in parts of Southeast Texas in part because of a hurricane in the 1940s that pushed the creatures into the state.
