Coypu

Seanachai

Can these critters mate with our own brown rats? because this isn't something I want to see happening


http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/looking-for-a-new-pet-threefoot-long-giant-rat-found-swimming-in-irish-river-31184219.html

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Seanachai wrote: »

Can these critters mate with our own brown rats? because this isn't something I want to see happening


http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/looking-for-a-new-pet-threefoot-long-giant-rat-found-swimming-in-irish-river-31184219.html

Not at all. It's a completely different species.

dodderangler

Maxim Deep Gumdrop wrote: »

Not at all. It's a completely different species.

True and a huge pest aswell. Louisiana is plagued by them and a full on control is still going on with them. Also in small parts of other surrounding areas.
The nutria or coypu were responsible For the floods that happened after hurricane katrina as the river banks had burst due to the coypu or nutria digging the banks and eating the roots of the trees that occupy the banks.
There was a show out called rat bástards on discovery about lads who get paid to hunt them and destroy them in areas.
In one abandoned house they shot and killed 35.
They're also hunted with dogs but dogs were Kevlar vests as nutria has massive teeth and claws thatll do good bit of damage to any dog.

Rosahane

They were a huge pest in East Anglia in the UK also. They had a big eradication policy in the late Seventies and early Eighties which was successful.

The problems they caused and the eradication policy was frequently featured in the Shooting Times back then.

Seanachai

Rosahane wrote: »

They were a huge pest in East Anglia in the UK also. They had a big eradication policy in the late Seventies and early Eighties which was successful.

The problems they caused and the eradication policy was frequently featured in the Shooting Times back then.

Did they establish a population just from escaping from homes and zoos?

Rosahane

Seanachai wrote: »

Did they establish a population just from escaping from homes and zoos?

Escapees or releases from fur farming back before WW2 from what I remember. So, escapees in significant numbers!

Rosahane

A good research paper on the subject of coypu in the UK.
http://vege1.kan.ynu.ac.jp/isp/pdf/Baker.pdf

dodderangler

My mates father worked for a fur company and gave me loads of strips of fur off different animals such as mink and fox( silver,red, arctic) and I have loads of nutria fur and it's very soft

Jayzesake

I was never aware that these had ever been a problem. I remember seeing something similar along the banks of the Arno in Florence, Italy, when there once and wondering what they were. I presume they were the same species.

Anyway it's encouraging to see another example demonstrating that it is sometimes possible to eradicate an invasive exotic species if done right. The paper Rosahane gave the link to noted the close ties between scientific research and how the eradication programme was carried out as being key to its success:

"A second campaign was started in 1981 with the objective of eradicating coypus from Britain within 10 years. This campaign was successful and coypus were eradicated by 1989. One of the key features in the success of the campaign was the close linkage between the research and eradication programmes. The research provided estimates of population size to monitor the progress of the campaign and estimates of the variables necessary to model the population. The research also allowed improvements to be made in management techniques and trapping strategies."

I would guess that in all successful programmes of this type good research would be paramount.

Rosahane

Jayzesake wrote: »

I was never aware that these had ever been a problem. I remember seeing something similar along the banks of the Arno in Florence, Italy, when there once and wondering what they were. I presume they were the same species.

Anyway it's encouraging to see another example demonstrating that it is sometimes possible to eradicate an invasive exotic species if done right. The paper Rosahane gave the link to noted the close ties between scientific research and how the eradication programme was carried out as being key to its success:

"A second campaign was started in 1981 with the objective of eradicating coypus from Britain within 10 years. This campaign was successful and coypus were eradicated by 1989. One of the key features in the success of the campaign was the close linkage between the research and eradication programmes. The research provided estimates of population size to monitor the progress of the campaign and estimates of the variables necessary to model the population. The research also allowed improvements to be made in management techniques and trapping strategies."

I would guess that in all successful programmes of this type good research would be paramount.

It's interesting how an incentivising strategy for the trappers was successfully implemented.
Compare that with, for instance, our Bovine TB eradication programme!

gctest50

Seanachai wrote: »

Can these critters mate with our own brown rats? because this isn't something I want to see happening

no need, ordinary ones are big enough

this fine healthy sized lad was caught in Dublin

Seanachai

gctest50 wrote: »

no need, ordinary ones are big enough

this fine healthy sized lad was caught in Dublin

I'm getting a one-way trap for the box outside the bathroom after hearing a pest control guy on Irish tv saying they can get in through the toilet.

dodderangler

Seanachai wrote: »

I'm getting a one-way trap for the box outside the bathroom after hearing a pest control guy on Irish tv saying they can get in through the toilet.

Generally if a rat can fit it's head into a hole then it's can fit it's whole body in it aswell

Seanachai

dodderangler wrote: »

Generally if a rat can fit it's head into a hole then it's can fit it's whole body in it aswell

I know and they can get through the U-bend too even with the water . I'm wary about the windows too in case the f**kers get in.

Desmo

Pest control guys talk up the dangers; it is part of their job.
In principle rats could get up a u-bend; does it actually happen very often though?

dodderangler

Seanachai wrote: »

I know and they can get through the U-bend too even with the water . I'm wary about the windows too in case the f**kers get in.

Get a ferret

Seanachai

dodderangler wrote: »

Get a ferret

I used to play with ferrets at my uncles house when I was a kid. I'd love to have one actually but the landlord doesn't allow pets.