Alex Trelinski
A LARGE rodent native to South America has been spotted in a Segura river irrigation canal in the Orihuela area.
The coypu(Myocastor coypu)- also known as an otter rat- started appearing in northern Spain in the 1970’s after escaping from several French fur farms.
A couple of them have been seen at the Hurchillo canal and everything points to them appearing after one or more of them were kept as pets.
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There is no recorded connection between the coypu populations of northern Spain and the upper and middle basin of the Segura River, which suggests some had been domesticated.
Similar to the beaver, it was artificially introduced into North America, Europe and Asia for them to be used in the manufacture of fur.
It is a large rodent, weighing up to 10 kilos, with a body length of up to 60 centimetres plus a tail of between 30 and 45 centimetres.
The coypu can damage a wide variety of plant species, and can lead to the local extinction of some of them.
Since it feeds on aquatic plants, the area used by wetland birds for nesting is reduced.
They also can eat the equivalent of 25% of their weight in vegetation and has great reproductive capacity, with females producing litters of up to 10 babies.
