- A destructive, invasive giant rodent called nutria may have been deliberately reintroduced in California, posing a serious threat to the state’s fragile wetlands.
- A genomic study found nutria discovered in Merced County in 2017 are genetically linked to a population in central Oregon, suggesting illegal human reintroduction decades after their eradication in the 1970s.
- The motive for the suspected reintroduction is unclear, with possibilities ranging from misguided attempts at vegetation control to environmental sabotage.
- Nutria aggressively feed on aquatic plants and burrow, which can devastate marsh ecosystems, destroy native habitats, and weaken levees, increasing flood risks.
- California spends approximately $5 million annually to control the nutria population, having removed thousands since 2017, and emphasizes vigilance against further human-assisted spread.
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