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California's 20-pound invasive nutria problem could be worse than previously imagined
www.sfgate.com ^ | Updated 4:00 am PDT, Friday, August 17, 2018 | By Eric Ting

Posted on 08/17/2018 1:49:53 PM PDT by Red Badger

For the small six-person team tasked with combating California's nutria infestation, a typical day consists of working in 100-degree weather, wading through marshes and avoiding traps built to catch 20-pound rodents, targeting about 2 million acres.

Nutria, a destructive rat-like mammal, is currently burrowing into central California's wetlands. In the spring, the Department of Fish and Wildlife began to warn the public about the dangers of the animal, which devastate agricultural infrastructure by burrowing into levees, roadbeds and canal beds.

But in the past few months, only 200 nutria have been exterminated, 100 of which were found in a pond on a single private farm in central California.

As the agency prepares for an intensive survey of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, officials say they have no idea what the actual numbers of nutria will look like. In April, there were two confirmed sightings of nutria just outside the delta, a region critical to California's waterways.

"We can't guess, we have no idea what we're going to find in there," California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Peter Tira told SFGATE. "We need to survey and see to what extent they're in there, we haven't determined a complete range of nutria in the region."

"Our goal is to keep the nutria out of the delta as much as possible," Tira said. "That's the epicenter of our water control and flood control in California."

The Department of Fish and Wildlife isn't expected to get people on the ground in the delta until later this month, since they are still in the process of getting permission from farmers and other landowners to access private property. Most of the land in the delta is private.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Agriculture; Food; Outdoors; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: ca; california; nutria; rats; rodents
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To: scrabblehack

Did you google Minx?


81 posted on 08/17/2018 3:51:09 PM PDT by kaboom
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To: Army Air Corps

Excellent Seinfeld ref!


82 posted on 08/17/2018 3:53:50 PM PDT by Yaelle
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To: fieldmarshaldj

Give the dolphins & whales a break.


83 posted on 08/17/2018 3:57:28 PM PDT by NativeSon ( Grease the floor with Crisco when I dance the Disco)
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To: TruthInThoughtWordAndDeed

Sufar substitute or a new IUD


84 posted on 08/17/2018 4:00:36 PM PDT by NativeSon ( Grease the floor with Crisco when I dance the Disco)
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To: Yaelle

It was the first thing that came to my mind. :)


85 posted on 08/17/2018 4:09:34 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: Red Badger

There are enough wacky CA chefs who could turn this into a trending menu item.


86 posted on 08/17/2018 4:12:46 PM PDT by bgill (CDC site, "We don't know how people are infected with Ebola.")
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To: Red Badger

Maybe put them in Nutraloaf (and the name even matches).

The jailbirds in solitary might not notice the difference or might even appreciate the change of recipe.


87 posted on 08/17/2018 4:27:08 PM PDT by bkopto
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To: NativeSon

I wondered if anyone was going to get the reference...


88 posted on 08/17/2018 4:28:53 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj ("It's Slappin' Time !")
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To: Red Badger

Just grep them out and pipe them to dev null...


89 posted on 08/17/2018 4:49:41 PM PDT by AndyTheBear
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To: Bartholomew Roberts

Import Pythons from Florida!


90 posted on 08/17/2018 4:55:04 PM PDT by Ozark Tom
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To: OldSmaj

Calling Duck Dynasty. Free nutria for Sy!


91 posted on 08/17/2018 5:19:21 PM PDT by Defiant (I may be deplorable, but I'm not getting in that basket.)
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie

*chuckle*


92 posted on 08/17/2018 5:22:18 PM PDT by Yardstick
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To: Gen.Blather

Dried nutria gall bladder, if taken by a pregnant woman, ensures the baby born will be male.

You just read that on the internet so it must be true.


93 posted on 08/17/2018 5:37:00 PM PDT by Grimmy (equivocation is but the first step along the road to capitulation)
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To: Defiant
Seems like I read somewhere that he does eat those damned things.

I got no problem with Si or Sy, whichever they call him, but he is kinda way out in the outfield, so to speak.

I saw him at a Cabelas promotion, signing autographs and such and he looks like a rat-eater.

And I don't mean that in a bad way...on the contrary, I mean he's obviously one of those that would eat whatever the hell it took to survive.

So would I, but I'm gonna have to get REAL hungry to eat a 20 pound rat and I don't care if Emeril hisself cooks it up.

94 posted on 08/17/2018 5:52:49 PM PDT by OldSmaj
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To: Red Badger

Its a rodent so depending on how Richard Gere is feeling there might be a reduction of one more in the wild.


95 posted on 08/17/2018 6:00:00 PM PDT by Rebelbase (Consensus isn't science.)
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To: rktman
You gotta use the right Marinade 🐀 <—as close as I can get to a Super Rat.
96 posted on 08/17/2018 7:31:29 PM PDT by mabarker1 (congress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!!)
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To: NativeSon
You club Baby Seals don’t You ?😳
97 posted on 08/17/2018 7:35:49 PM PDT by mabarker1 (congress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!!)
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To: rktman

” A lot in Louisiana.”

If Cajuns won’t eat them, they’re unfit for consumption


98 posted on 08/17/2018 8:11:46 PM PDT by Figment
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To: Gen.Blather

Glad I wasn’t drinking anything when I read that


99 posted on 08/17/2018 8:13:17 PM PDT by Figment
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To: Red Badger

The only one I’ve ever hit sounded like a steel garbage can when I ran over it


100 posted on 08/17/2018 8:17:52 PM PDT by Figment
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