Invasive Species, Nutria

Nutria originated from South America, however due to escapes and releases from fur farms there are large populations in North America, Europe and Asia. “Armed with a voracious appetite, this semi-aquatic mammal is charged with the destruction of thousands of acres of wetland habitat. The nutria contributes to coastal erosion, ravaging as much as 40 square miles of Louisiana's coastal marshes each year... The perpetrator has also been extremely destructive in the mid-Atlantic states, primarily on the Delmarva Peninsula. The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in the Chesapeake Bay area loses approximately 500 to 1,000 acres per year from nutria damage."