Posted on 09/09/2005 8:57:08 PM PDT by hispanarepublicana
Hurricane Katrina's path of destruction dealt at least a temporary setback to the nutria, the South American rodent species that is devouring wetlands along the Gulf of Mexico, according to experts.
Scientists believe decades of wetlands loss in the Gulf region—due in part to the voracious appetites of the rodents—made Hurricane Katrina's destruction worse.
"Some of the storm protection that nature provides from wetlands, especially in southeast Louisiana, that flood protection, it just wasn't there," said Justin Baker, a biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in New Iberia.
Baker heads up a program to reduce the numbers of the invasive rodents with an incentive program: Registered trappers are paid four dollars (U.S.) for every nutria tail they deliver to collection agencies. The target is to kill 400,000 nutria each year.
Baker's department encourages trappers by touting the virtues of nutria fur, which is similar to that of beaver, and by circulating recipes for nutria meat.
Adult nutria weigh about 15 pounds (7 kilograms), falling in size between a muskrat and beaver. Their prolific nature—a female can produce two litters of five or six young a year—and insatiable appetite for wetland vegetation are wreaking havoc along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
In April 2005, an aerial survey found 53,475 acres (21,641 hectares) of nutria-caused wetland damage in Louisiana. That figure is nearly half the damaged acreage surveyed when the control program started in 1998.
Jacoby Carter is an ecologist who studies nutria at the U.S. Geological Survey National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette. He said Katrina's impact on the rodent was likely significant but temporary.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...
Caption: Originally from South America, the nutria has devastated thousands of acres of wetlands along the U.S. Gulf Coast with its voracious appetite and prolific mating habits.
In Louisiana, wildlife officials are encouraging trappers to hunt the animal by touting the virtues of nutria fur, which is similar to that of beaver, and by circulating recipes for nutria meat.
No self respecting Cajun would put nutria in gumbo.
Looks like a ground hog with beaver teeth.
Such as . . . . ..
Maybe a beaver who smokes.....
What about the Chupacabras?
I don't even want to speculate.
I think nutria are cool, mostly because I live about a thousand miles away from them.
Still alive and well too, I think.
Good work, if you can get it.
are those the things that i saw jaguars eating on one of them national geographic specials?
in a strange coincidence, your FR name and the job to "reduce the numbers of invasive rodents" sound very much alike......
Well, we know where we can Clinton this week...
Yuck! Even Pepe Le Pew wouldn't hit on that!
The cleanup is never ending... and smelly.
They're comin' your way. They've showed up in Portland, Oregon.
Perhaps some Nutria sushi?
Nutria rocky mountain oysters?
Pickled Nutria feet & tail?
Nutria & Chips?
TASTESLIKE---
What's the keyword? I don't think chicken will do in this case.
I saw one at Hatteras Island a month ago. I didn't know what it was. It looked like a muskrat the size of a small goat.
Mrs VS
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.