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Invasive Nutria Threaten Wetlands
Nutria are native to South America, but introduced to the United States during the early 1900’s by the fur industry. Nutria have been introduced to every continent except Australia and Antarctica.
Wetlands provide a valuable flood control function and are very effective at filtering and cleaning water pollution. Since 1993 half of the world’s wetlands have been drained, often making way for real estate development or flooded to use as recreation lakes. Nutria can do extensive damage to wetlands also, which is currently the case in Florida.
Nutria eat a large amount of vegetation each day. They eat the roots of plants and as they dig they can hollow out a riverbank or clear a patch of vegetation very quickly. These grazing areas and burrows disrupt the habitat of native animals and cause erosion damage.
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