{"id":596120,"date":"2026-04-11T02:51:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/596120\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T02:51:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:51:12","slug":"giant-rodent-that-could-devastate-california-wetlands-was-deliberately-reintroduced-to-population-experts-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/596120\/","title":{"rendered":"Giant rodent that could devastate California wetlands was \u2018deliberately\u2019 reintroduced to population, experts fear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n

Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n

A destructive, invasive giant rodent<\/a> may have been deliberately reintroduced in California<\/a>, posing a serious threat to the state\u2019s fragile wetlands<\/a>, wildlife officials said.<\/p>\n

The species, known as nutria, is a large semi-aquatic rodent native to South America that can weigh up to 20 pounds and consume vast amounts of vegetation. <\/p>\n

A first-of-its-kind genomic study found that nutria discovered in Merced County in 2017 are genetically linked to a population in central Oregon<\/a> – which suggests the invasive rodents were illegally reintroduced to California by humans decades after being eradicated in the 1970s, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said<\/a> Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven where nutria were rediscovered in California, it is nearly impossible that they could have migrated there on their own,\u201d Michael Buchalski, Fish and Wildlife’s wildlife genetics research lead, told SFGate<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s too far of a distance and we don\u2019t find any nutria in the areas in between. That makes human introduction the most likely scenario.\u201d <\/p>\n

The motive behind the suspected reintroduction remains unclear, officials say. Some believe the nutria may have been released as a misguided attempt at vegetation control, while others suspect possible environmental sabotage, SFGate reports. <\/p>\n

\"NutriaNutria found in California are genetically linked to a population in central Oregon, suggesting they were illegally reintroduced by humans decades after being eradicated in the 1970s, officials said this week (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone may have thought they could be an effective natural way to manage aquatic vegetation on their private property,\u201d Buchalski said. \u201cAlso, some people just really like nutria…Or it could have been malicious in hopes that they would cause environmental damage. It\u2019s hard to know.\u201d <\/p>\n

Regardless of intent, the consequences could be severe. Nutria are known for aggressively feeding on aquatic plants, often consuming up to a quarter of their body weight daily, which can devastate marsh ecosystems and destroy habitats for native species. Their burrowing behavior also weakens levees and irrigation systems, increasing the risk of flooding and infrastructure failure. <\/p>\n

Since 2017, the state has removed thousands of nutria and spends about $5 million each year to control the population, while also setting up inspection stations at key entry points as a \u201cfirst line of defense\u201d against further introductions.<\/p>\n

\"OfficialsOfficials say the motive behind the suspected reintroduction is unclear, with theories ranging from a misguided attempt at vegetation control to possible intentional environmental sabotage (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Despite those efforts, officials warn that preventing additional human-assisted spread remains critical. The introduction and transport of nutria into California is illegal, and authorities stress that continued vigilance is necessary to protect the state\u2019s ecosystems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe results of this study additionally will benefit future national and global genetic research on nutria,\u201d Buchalski said in a statement. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":{"0":"post-596120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}