Nutria have been a nuisance in Europe for some decades now, having escaped and been released from fur farms. In areas where there are dikes they can pose a risk, but otherwise they’re pretty harmless neozotes. They’re also cute as fuck. My area has a pretty amount of natural and artificial ponds and the nutria, being pretty ok with humans in proximity, make good use of areas that their shyer relatives like beavers avoid. Our local pond has been populated by them since last year and yesterday we took a walk around it. Did I say “pretty ok with humans?”. Well, actively investigating us would be more accurate. As I took out my phone, this fellow came over to investigate whether that thing might be edible. The whiskers do tickle.

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