Nutria

Photo by Terry Portillo

Visitors to the Woodlands Executive Conference Center and Resort may have wondered about the furry brown creatures paddling about the murky waters of the warf. Some describe them as mutant rats, others as small beavers. In fact, these aquatic rodents are Nutria (Spanish for Otter). Weighing in at 15 to 20 pounds, the Nutria has the head and coat of a beaver, the tail of a rat, webbed hind feet and yellow teeth. It is equally at home in salt water and clear water.

Originally from South America, Nutria were imported from Argentina to Louisiana in 1938. They were brought in by Tabasco tycoon E. A. McIlhenny who maintained them in a fenced enclosure on his Avery Island estate in southern Louisiana. However, in 1941, rising waters from a gulf coast hurricane enabled the nutria to swim out of their compound. Feeding on the abundant plant life in the Louisiana swamps and waterways, they quickly reproduced. They have since spread to many southern states, including Texas. The Woodlands Nutria are believed to have descended from McIllhenny's original imports.

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