A large, rat-like animal from South America that lives by water. It was brought to Japan for fur and has established in several prefectures.
It has a large, rat-like body and a round tail. The hind feet are webbed between the toes, while the front feet are not.
Macdo wetland in Busan, South Korea, covers about 2.58 km². From autumn 2015 to autumn 2016, researchers radio-tracked 24 adult nutria, 12 males and 12 females. They recorded 2,336 locations from 23 animals, making monthly surveys over three consecutive days and nights. The repeated schedule gave the team a year-long view of space use at this wetland.
Home ranges changed by season and were smallest in winter. Nutria were mainly active at twilight and night throughout the year, with some daytime activity in winter. Male ranges averaged about 0.23 km² larger than female ranges, while females’ winter ranges were similar in size to males’. These seasonal and sex-related differences provide local evidence for planning the timing and area of ecosystem management.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
At Macdo wetland in South Korea, researchers tracked an introduced nutria population to inform local control planning. The study found seasonal differences in home-range size and predominantly twilight and night activity, evidence that can help plan the timing and area of local surveys and management. These are findings from one wetland in 2015–2016; the paper does not report a current global category, assessment date, or population trend.