Coypu

About this species

Size

Usually 80–90cm total length

Weight

Usually 8–10kg

Diet

Aquatic vegetation, including stems, leaves, roots and bark

Habitat

Marshes, lake margins and slow streams

Range

Native to southern South America; introduced in Asia and elsewhere

Litter size

Usually 3–6; recorded range 1–13

Gestation

127–139 days

The coypu, or nutria, is a large semiaquatic rodent with a robust body, short legs, orange incisors and a long round scaly tail. The hind feet are partly webbed, unlike a beaver's fully webbed feet. Typical total length is 80–90 cm and weight 8–10 kg. Native to southern South America, it now has feral populations in Asia, Europe and North America after escapes and releases from fur farms (Texas Tech species account; Animal Diversity Web).

Coypus inhabit marshes, lake edges and slow streams with abundant emergent vegetation. They are chiefly nocturnal herbivores, eating aquatic stems, leaves, roots and bark, and they build bank burrows and feeding platforms. Breeding can occur year-round; gestation lasts 127–139 days and litters usually contain three to six young. Their burrowing can weaken banks and dikes, while heavy grazing damages wetlands. Korean occurrence represents an introduced population rather than the native range (Animal Diversity Web; USGS species profile).

Description: Wildlife of Korea guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com)