Mammals - invasive

Nutria (Myocastor coypus) on Jan 21, 2012

Submitter does not have a specimen

Description of specimen

About the size of my Peke (dog)- about eight pounds. Dark Brown, short fur, very, very small ears. rat-like thick tail (brown also), and webbed feet (from my view). I've seen as many as three at once and they all look to be about the same size and color.

Commentary

I have photos that I am unable to attach using the feature on this form. I can e-mail them to an e-mail address. Thank you.

Reporter
Jan. 21, 2012, 2:15 p.m.

Thank you for submitting the report. The animals you are seeing are nutria, an invasive, semi-aquatic mammal native to South America. Unfortunately, nutria are now common in the Portland metro area. In fact, I have been to the Tanasbrook location and am aware of the nutria population there.

It is important to realize that nutria are potential reservoirs for a variety of diseases that can be transferred to other species, including humans in some cases. Nutria can also become aggressive on occasion, so please encourage people not to feed the nutria if feeding is currently happening.

The nutria page on the Center for Lakes and Reservoirs website at http://www.clr.pdx.edu/projects/ans/nutria.php contains more information on nutria impacts if you are interested. My contact information can also be found on this site if you have questions or would like further information.

Thanks again for your efforts!

Trevor Sheffels
Center for Lakes and Reservoirs
Portland State University

Trevor Sheffels
Jan. 22, 2012, 4:38 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

On the footpath in Tanasbrook Condominium Community on the corner of 185th and Cornell Road in zip code 97006. I am a resident of Tanasbrook and see them routinely during my afternoon walks. Often I see one individual grazing alongside geese in several grassy areas. I viewed one from only several feet away today, but see them throughout the year, and this past summer, I witnessed three along the shore of the wetland area from the deck of our community Recreation Building. They are apparently used to people. I am able to walk very near and they usually only position themselves so that they can see me with one eye while they continue to graze. I've also seen a very large one on a grassy area near a wet area at the corner of Cornell and Bethany. I believe it came through a drain pipe that went under Bethany Blvd, from the wetland area and was in the grass on the other side of the street. This was in early morning hours, during traffic at about eight am.

Expert Reviewer

Trevor Sheffels

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