LOUISIANA FUR ADVISORY COUNCIL
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Nutria (Myocastor coypus)

Printable Nutria Trading Card
NutriaThis rodent is native to South America and was introduced to Louisiana.
Appearance: looks like a large, brown rat, average adult weight is 12 to 16 pounds, webbed hind feet, 20 teeth (the 4 huge front teeth are orange), whiskers are 4 inches long, oil glands near the mouth, which are used to waterproof the fur, mammary glands on the sides, so infants can nurse while the mother swims

Reproduction: sexual maturity at 5 1/2 months, 2 litters per year, average litter size is 5, females are only capable of producing 6 litters in a lifetime
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Food habits: vegetarian, eats aquatic plants such as cattail, duck-weed, and hyacinth

Habits: den is shared by a dominant male and 2 or 3 females and their offspring

Nutria Range Map
Distribution: throughout Louisiana, coastal areas of Texas, Mississippi and Florida, N. Carolina, Maryland, Oregon, Washington, Alabama, & Georgia

Habitat: swamps, marshes, rivers, lakes, streams, back waters. They dig burrows for dens in levees and streambanks; in marshes and swamps they rest on platforms of vegetation built above water.

Controls: prey of alligators, cottonmouths, hawks, owls and eagles; parasites include flatworms, roundworms, fleas, and lice 

Values: usually have a negative impact on other wildlife species and often over-harvest edible plants resulting in "eat-outs", burrowing causes problemswith dams, dikes, and levees; roundworms can infest the water where nutria swim and then be passed on to humans



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Range map credits: Data provided by NatureServe in collaboration with Bruce Patterson, Wes Sechrest, Marcelo Tognelli, Gerardo Ceballos, The Nature Conservancy—Migratory Bird Program, Conservation International—CABS, World Wildlife Fund—US, and Environment Canada—WILDSPACE.

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  • Council
    • Louisiana Fur Council Meeting Schedule
    • Louisiana Fur Council Members
    • Louisiana Fur Annual Reports
  • Industry
    • Louisiana Trapping Regulations
    • Shipping Louisiana Furs
    • Louisiana Fur Dealers
    • Tanning/Manufacturing
  • Trapper Education
    • Trapping Courses & Resources
    • Louisiana Fur & Pelt Handling
    • Nutria Grading
    • Skull Cleaning
    • Trapping Benefits
    • Nutria Meat and Recipes
  • Outreach Education
    • Community Outreach
    • Louisiana Furbearers >
      • Beaver
      • Bobcat
      • Coyote
      • Gray Fox
      • Red Fox
      • Mink
      • Muskrat
      • Nutria
      • Opossum
      • Otter
      • Raccoon
      • Striped Skunk