• Characteristics of nutria
• Habits of the nutria
• Curiosities about nutria

Characteristics of nutria

The nutria (Myocastor coypus) is a mammal of the rodent family , native to South America. Similar to the beaver, the nutria has a squat body about 60 centimeters long and between 30 and 40 centimeters high, weighing up to ten kilos. 

The female nutria are slightly smaller than the male specimens. The whole body of the nutria is covered with thick fur consisting of a soft undercoat and longer, bristly hairs. 

The mantle of the nutria is brown on almost the whole body, with the exception of
the belly and snout area, where it takes on lighter shades. The coypu’s tail is approximately as long as its entire body and is robust and rounded.

The nutria also has five fingers on the lower limbs and five on the posterior ones, of which four are webbed, eyes and ears of small dimensions and particularly developed and protruding incisors.

Habits of the nutria

The nutria is an aquatic animal, therefore it lives near rivers, lakes, streams and marshy areas where it finds nourishment and areas suitable for building a den. These rodents in fact spend most of their time in the water , feeding mainly on aquatic plants and algae and digging tunnels and rooms close to the water to obtain
adequate shelters.

The thick fur and subcutaneous fat allow the nutria to remain in the water even during the cold season , keeping the body temperature constant.

The otters do not live alone but in groups of about ten specimens , which spend the day inside the burrows, to go out at dusk.
Thanks to the webbed legs, the otters are skilled and fast swimmers: they generally swim keeping their eyes and snout out of the water but if necessary they can dive and stay in apnea for several minutes to dig their burrows or look for food resources.

If the food resources in the water are scarce , the otters can go even on land and feed on any vegetable, including those cultivated.

The sexual maturity of the nutria generally occurs around the sixth month of age and reproduction can take place throughout the year, although during the colder months it slows down significantly.

Normally the nutria gives birth two or three times over a twelve month period , after a gestation of just over four months. The babies are nursed for about two months but are able to follow the mother in the water just a few hours after giving birth and to feed independently after four weeks.

Curiosities about nutria

The otters do not represent an indigenous species in our country : these rodents arrived in Italy due to the trade in fur animals.

However, the nutria fur trade was not successful and many animals were therefore released into the wild where, due to the lack of predators, they quickly reproduced.

Today the otters are widespread along the waterways of the Po Valley, in various southern regions including Campania and on the islands and the specimens descend from animals previously held by farms.

Otters are in no way dangerous for humans and animals but often these animals damage river banks, irrigation systems and crops. For this reason, otters are subject to containment and population control programs that include the capture and killing of specimens.

To remove the otters, however, there are non- toxic repellents on the market , harmless both for the otters and for other animals and for the environment. Other less bloody and more ethical methods to keep coypu away include placing special  nets near water courses , while to limit the proliferation of the coypu population it is possible to sterilize the specimens.

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