Los Banos Wildlife Area
An Invasive, Elusive 20-Pound Rodent Threatens California Agriculture.
Nutria aren’t native to California, or the United States. Fur farmers brought the South American rodent to Southern California in the late 1800s as an attempt to make an affordable mink alternative. After multiple attempts, the nutria fur business never took off, but the rodents went feral. California’s Department of Food and Agriculture determined they were eradicated in the 1970s.
Last year, though, a few were spotted again in Merced County, and now they’re multiplying. Nutria can have up to 200 babies a year.
