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Environment

Giant invasive rodents could make California’s floods worse

The state of California is trying to eradicate invasive populations of South American nutria, whose burrows can damage levees and earthen dams

By James Dinneen

14 April 2023

Nutria were first introduced to the US in 1899

Jiri Castka/Alamy

Invasive rodents called nutria could threaten the stability of aging levees and earthen dams in California’s Central valley region if the state fails to control their population.

“We are at a critical point in which we still have the opportunity to completely eradicate these animals from waterways in California,” says Jared Barr at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Nutria (Myocastor coypus), also known as coypu, were first introduced to the US from their native South America in 1899, …

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