Common Name: nutria, Coypu Family Name: Myocastoridae - Nutria family Species Code: MYCO1 Native range: South America NJ Status: Emerging Stage 0 – Absent or very rare. It is highly threatening to native plant communities. General Description • Large, herbivorous, semi-aquatic rodent • Introduced to the US in 1930s and farmed for their fur • Adults weight 15 to 22 lbs (males larger than females) and 24” long (tail included). • Long, rounded, sparsely haired tail measuring 13 - 16” • Large yellow orange teeth • Life span of 8 to 10 years • Nocturnal, will feed during the day if food is scarce • Nutrias eat 25% of their body weight daily. • Eats roots, rhizomes, and tubers of plants. • Will create burrows, land nests, and platforms out of vegetation in shallow water Life Cycle • Sexually mature after 4 months • Females average 4 to 5 offspring per pregnancy, can have 2 litters per year • Male and 2 to 3 females share a den What to look for • Tracks show a small fore foot and a larger hind foot, 5”, with four webbed toes and a free outer toe. Tail drag marks are also seen between the footprints • Droppings dark green to black, 2” long and ½” wide, deep lines running along the droppings Habitat • Wetlands, semi-aquatic environments • Prefers places with a large amount of emergent aquatic vegetation Look-alikes beaver (Castor canadensis) • Native • Adults measure 3’ long and weighing 44 lbs on average • Flat, wide, tail • Creates large dens out of sticks twigs and mud muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) • Native • Adults measure 16 - 24” long, their tail measuring 9½” long, and weight between 1½ - 4 lbs • Over winters in a den made of vegetation and mud, creates a new one each year. • Mark their territory with a musky sent • Hind foot not webbed and all toes point forward