California – California wildlife officials are urging residents to consider adding nutria, a large invasive rodent, to their diets as a means of controlling the species’ burgeoning population and protecting native ecosystems.
Nutria, originally from South America and introduced for the fur trade, have become a significant threat to California’s wetlands, particularly in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. These semi-aquatic rodents destroy habitats and outcompete native wildlife by consuming up to a quarter of their body weight in vegetation daily, leading to erosion and habitat loss.
“Eating invasive species can help protect native wildlife by reducing their numbers and limiting the damage they cause to ecosystems,” said Erin Huggins, a spokesperson for the Fish and Wildlife Service, in a late February statement…