Lurking all over the waters of the Bay Area is a creature that is destroying infrastructure, gobbling up crops, and rampantly spreading diseases. As it continues to multiply, this creature, known as the Nutria, becomes progressively more difficult for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to handle.
The Nutria is a semi-aquatic rodent, originating from South America. Weighing up to a whopping 25 pounds, these beaver-adjacent beasts known by many as “swamp rats” were first introduced to Southern California in the 1800s, as part of the fur trade.
Though they were eradicated in the 1970s, they’ve made a comeback since 2017 in the San Joaquin Valley. Since then, they have invaded north into the Bay Area, ravaging in Solano and Contra Costa counties.
As burrowing creatures, Nutria make their homes in dams, dikes, and embankments, eroding stream banks and damaging waterways and irrigation systems. Moreover, these hungry hellions often consume up to 25 percent of their body weight, wolfing down much of the native plant and agricultural crop and leaving extensive harm to soil structure and fields.
As if they couldn’t be any more of a nuisance, Nutria are dirty. Dwelling in water supplies, they can infect local water drinkers and swimmers with their tapeworms, septicemia, and tuberculosis.
Animal enthusiast Ellie Umberg ’28 commented, “This sounds terrible, and although I love animals, they shouldn’t be here. It’s also very scary that they are invading our water systems.”
Efforts to stop the Nutria takeover have been somewhat successful, as their population has been subdued enough to prevent an uncontrollable infestation. However, despite the CDFW killing 5,200 Nutria since 2017 and allowing citizens to capture them with virtually no restrictions, these creatures still find ways to avoid hunting human eyes.
It doesn’t help that these beasts reproduce rapidly–a female nutria can produce her first litter of 2-13 pups at as young as 8 months old, and can churn out three litters per Nutria mama each year.
Still, there is light at the end of the tunnel. As the populace becomes increasingly aware of this greedful rodent’s existence, efforts to neutralize the Nutria will likely be ramped up in following weeks. Invasive species like the Nutria serve as a lesson to the importance of preserving native life in an era where preserving biodiversity is crucial to the balance of the Earth.