The Plight Of The Wetlands

The Plight of the Southern Wetlands

The South American Nutria, Myocastor coypus, has become a huge headache for the southern United States of America (Nickens 2000). In order to identify the beast known as the Nutria, one must know exactly what he looks like considering he is the world's second largest rodent (Annin 1993). Nutrias look similar to a beaver but with a rat-like tail, is up to 25 inches long and 15 pounds in weight, has huge incisor teeth, and webbed hind feet (Colombia Encyclopedia Sept 2006). They spend most of their time in or around water and their impacts are felt by all the wildlife and vegetation (National Trappers Association September 2006).

Nutrias originate from South America and were first introduced by fur farmers that wanted to domestically reproduce them in order to make a profit off their furs. A man by the name of E.A. McIlhenny is blamed for dispersing the nutria problem from South America for local fur trade and kept a few nutria caged where they bred in ridiculous numbers. When a hurricane hit the nutria escaped and began its plight on the U.S. southern wetlands (Annin 1993). It is has moved into 40 states throughout the U.S., including Maryland, but most damaging to Louisiana and the southern most states (Popular Mechanics 1997).

The nutria is detrimental to its wetland habitat because it literally destroys the marshes and wetlands. Since it can eat three pounds of food a day and when the population, unknown but estimated over 20 million, cannot allow the wildlife to sustain (Nickens 2000). Sometimes the nutria will "eat out" a 500 acre marshland and leave the marsh more susceptible to storm damage (Annin 1993). Vegetation is not the only group that suffers from the nutria because other animals do as well. Nutrias eat all the desirable plants, leaving the non-desirable ones left behind that cannot support the rest of the waterfowl and muskrat population in the area (National Trappers Association September 2006). Wetlands are natural filters for the environment and when the nutria rears its ugly head at an area there is a greater chance of raw material that should be filtered, getting straight into an ecosystem causing