Mammals - invasive

Nutria (Myocastor coypus) on Nov 23, 2020

Submitter does not have a specimen

Description of specimen

We weren’t sure what these were, but seems like they may be the invasive species, nutria. We saw about a dozen, including large adults and smaller babies. Photo was of one of the smallest ones we saw.

Commentary

Thank you for your report! Unfortunately nutria are a common sight in western Oregon. Depending on the needs of the site and potential damage nutria are or may be causing, they are sometimes removed, but our nutria populations are healthy and others will often replace any removed animals quickly. There is a lot of good information about nutria in Oregon on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Living With Wildlife site, https://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/nutria.asp.

Lindsey Wise
Jan. 25, 2021, 1:29 a.m.

Resources

There is a lot of good information about nutria in Oregon on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Living With Wildlife site.

Location

We spotted maybe a dozen or so of these throughout the wetland area while walking around the trail.

Expert Reviewer

Mrs. Lindsey Wise
Oregon Biodiversity Information Center, inr.oregonstate.edu/orbic
Oregon iMapInvasives
Institute for Natural Resources
Portland State University

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