California officials hunt down invasive 2.5-ft long rodents threatening Bay Area watershed

In Spanish, "nutria" is the word for "otter." In English, the word refers to a large rodent that originated in South America and was brought to the United States and Europe in the late 19th Century.

Now, according to SFGate, nutria have become so problematic in Northern California that officials are going on the offensive against them.

SFGate's Amanda Bartlett reports, "Close to 1000 nutria have been hunted down in the Bay Area this year alone, and wildlife officials are urging people to share reports of the invasive, 2.5-foot-long rodents as recent sightings caught on camera show they've spread to Contra Costa County, posing a risk to a critical watershed."

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Bartlett notes that after a pregnant nutria was "found at a private wetland in Merced County" in 2017, Peter Tira — a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife — told SFGate, "We cannot have nutria reproducing in the delta. The threat to California's economy is too great."

And the problem, according to Bartlett, has grown much worse since Tira sounded the alarm seven years ago.

Since 2017, Bartlett points out, "5042 nutria have been killed throughout California."

California Department of Fish and Wildlife representative Krysten Kellum told SFGate, "Reports will be followed up on by the interagency nutria response team and will help in their eradication effort."

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Read the full SFGate report at this link.