Nearly 1,000 rat-like nutria rodents, measuring around 2.5 feet long and weighing 20 pounds, have been spotted in the Bay Area, according to SFGate.com. These invasive creatures are spreading into Contra Costa County and posing a significant risk to critical watersheds, as confirmed by Krysten Kellum, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Bay Delta region, and Matthew Slattengren, the agriculture commissioner in Contra Costa County.
Nutria, also known as coypu, are herbivores native to South America. They burrow alongside water bodies and feed on river plant stems, raising concerns due to their potential to transmit various diseases, including tuberculosis, septicemia, and tapeworms, which can cause “nutria itch” rashes in humans and animals through water contamination. Their migration through wetland habitats is alarming, as it threatens crop yields and could compromise levee integrity due to their burrowing activities. Slattengren noted that the burrowing could “weaken levees to the point of failure.”
“We cannot have nutria reproducing in the delta,” stated Peter Tira, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, in an email to SFGate.com. “The threat to California’s economy is too great.”
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