Another shot of two members of the nutria population on the same river bank, this time sharing the bank with the resident geese.Some of you commented about the incontinent sex habits of these rodents: they are the same as rats and other pests.While their populations find a check in predators such as alligators, in Italy they proliferate profligately. The coypu or nutria (Myocastor coypus), is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Nutria breed in all seasons throughout most of their range, and sexually active individuals are present every month of the year. Reproductive peaks occur in late winter, early summer, and mid-autumn, and may be regulated by prevailing weather conditions. Originally native to temperate South America, it has since been introduced to North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, primarily by fur ranchers. Although it is still valued for its fur in some regions, its destructive feeding and burrowing behaviors make this invasive species a pest throughout most of its range. The name nutria (or local derivatives such as nutria- or nutra- rat) is generally used in North America and Asia; however, in Spanish-speaking countries, the word nutria refers to the otter. So the name coypu (derived from a native language) is used in Latin America and in some parts of Europe. In France, the coypu is known as a ragondin. In Dutch as beverrat (beaver rat). In Italy, instead, the popular name is, like in North America and Asia, nutria, but it is also called castorino (little beaver), by which its fur is known. Coypus live in burrows alongside stretches of water. They feed on river plants, and waste close to 90% of the plant material while feeding on the stems. Local extinction in their native range due to overharvest led to the development of coypu fur farms in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The first farms were in Argentina and then later in Europe, North America, and Asia. These farms have generally not been successful long term investments and farmed coypu often were released or escaped as operations became unprofitable. As demand for coypu fur declined, coypu have since become pests in many areas, destroying aquatic vegetation, irrigation systems, chewing through human-made items, such as tires and wooden house panelling, eroding river banks, and displacing native animals. Here they are accused, together with badgers and foxes of eroding the banks of our rivers and being among the main causes of the recent flood. Thank you for your kind comments.