Another Look at the Nutria

To continue on with getting to know the Nutrias, and help you see that they really are nothing like a rat, or what people think of rats (namely: ew and ick), here's a cute little guy who came over to me as I was walking in the park a few months ago. (If you're asking What's a Nutria, click that name on the tabs on the sidebar over there to see)


Now, would a RAT do that? No. He looks more like one of those miniature dogs wanting a treat. Or a very well trained gerbil. A rabbit with less cute lips and no hopping? Well, he certainly looks like a Nutria if nothing else. Because of his tail, he's in all this trouble, being called a water rat. Add a flat tail to the same body, face and teeth and he'd look just like a beaver and suddenly folks might be calling him cute.

Well, I gave him some bread, and --this was shot several months ago--it was the last time I did. I know these little guys have gotten carb addicted because people in the park throw them so much bread and they are really herbivores. I know wheat is a grain, and maybe it's not that bad for them but sliced rye doesn't grow on a riverbank with the rest of their food.


Since I've done so much training now between the Zoo and the Wildlife Center, I have stopped giving them bread... If I'm going to feed wild animals it will only be things as close as possible to their natural diets. When I see someone throw Fritos (oy!) to ducks (who will eat them) or M&M's (OY!!!) to a squirrel (who will eat them) I want to charge up and ask "What are you THINKING giving them these things? Do you think BLUE M&M's exist in nature??????" in an entirely too loud voice... or whack them upside the head (the people, not the animals).

Hey, Wake UP!

I was walking by the newly constructed foot-paddle boat launch area in The Park and saw this sight for the first time... three adult NUTRIAS on land. I see them in water, and I see them chewing reeds, and I see them sometimes on the banks of the lank on the grass, I assume hunting for tasty new green shoots. But I've never seen them stacked up like a bunch of firewood. One woke up and was in the middle of this little grooming thing they do... he's almost finished by the time my camera caught him.




I love it that he is making the same face you might do if you were scratching your underbelly. Cracks me up. I also think it's funny to watch the two duck feathers swimming around in the back ground in the same way the ducks themselves would. A sort of optical illusion (If you can imagine them as two tiny white ducks).

These little guys are so like Beavers in appearance (except for the tail)... I don't know if Beavers also do what you saw him doing, but I did read up that Nutrias regularly rub their hair with their hands to distribute natural oils that help their hair/skin stay protected while they tool around in the water so much. That was the tail end of what you saw him doing... I love how they use their little hands much like ours.

Here, it looks like he wants his pal to wake up, but he's out cold. I really was surprised to see this kind of behavior.



I realize these are not the best videos but I've been so busy I haven't been able to do much more than this. I have some great video of hummingbirds at our CO cabin feeders and many brightly colored birds that came to visit that I hope to load before I go out of town end of this weekend. In the mean time....

I had never seen a Nutria before I moved here, but they are prevalent. Do you have them where you live?

The Snow White Effect

... captured badly on film:

I took a sunset walk with lots of food in my bag. I stopped by a little bridge that crosses a hidden finger of the lake, where very few people walk by. This is where some smart mothers have their babies, as they will be somewhat protected. But what can protect you from a mother who decided that she'd had enough?

I went hoping to see that an abandoned baby duck I'd noticed the day before had made it through the night. Happily, she had. Seems she's been left by her mother, which happens more than you'd think. Last spring it happened in this same spot with a set of five babies. They were a little bigger than this guy when orphaned and at least they all had each other. I watched them grow into teenagers and at that stage, you know they are OK.

I'd first noticed the errant mother and her sole remaining baby last week together, in the same shallow reeds by this bridge, but I haven't seen them together since. Once I saw the little one alone I knew it was for good. Of course I woke up several times in the night with worries that she'd be pulled under by a snapping turtle (probably the fate of her many siblings) or something else. So I made a beeline back as soon as I got the chance

And there she was, eating insects of the surface of the water. She eagerly scooped up my breadcrumbs which I'd broken into the tiniest of pieces for her tiny beak. It was nice and quiet, a moment for just us two...

All at once there were rabbits coming out of the underbrush, a squirrel or two running up for nuts, bluejays screaming from the branches above me, 6 ducks swimming over for bread, a few long tailed grackles cawing for a morsel and a common sparrow spiriting away with the crumbs. A trio of frogs I couldn't see started singing in the distance and a Nutria surfaced and began to clean himself with his front paws before noshing on the reeds.

I did a bad job of getting movies, but I did it to try to capture why I feel like Snow White when I come to this place. Animals of all kinds come out of nowhere, but as soon as a dog or other people come along, they scamper, hop, fly and swim away.

Continued...



I'd already fed her plenty but I wanted to give her some more as the bigger she gets the less she will seem like easy prey. As you can see, the other 6 ducks dominated. The trick is to feed the big ones to distract them and then get something to the baby at the same time.

I went to the feed store and bought some actual chick feed for her for next time. Let's all say a little prayer she's there. All she needs is another week or two and she'll be well on her way to a nice long life.

One day I'll have a videographer with me so I can feed all these animals coming at me without trying to also get pictures... Or, since I do have a film degree myself, I might take the expensive HD movie camera I bought for this purpose but never bring with me... Shoot the amazing things that go on around me with a camera that doesn't rack in and out of focus because I zoom in too fast... and I will be able to edit out the bad parts and splice things together. Until then, thanks for bearing with me!

More Spring Babies

I introduced an animal that I'd never seen (or heard of) before moving to Houston --though that could actually be said for a few animals. That was the Nutria. If you want to learn more about Nutrias, you can CLICK HERE for an introduction or go to the Tags at the right and click on Nutrias.

Well, for a few weeks we got a baby nutria in and he was the delight of so many volunteers. He was so responsive to humans -- definitely imprinted, which is not so great if you want to release him back into the wild. But he was just so cute, everyone wanted to pick him up. Most were reminded that it would be in his best interests and did their best to not engage too much with him, but that dear man Bill who I mentioned HERE could not resist. And we ALL love Bill so much that when it came time to feed the little nutria, we left it to him. Here's a pic of the baby on Uncle Bill's knee, having some milk via syringe.

Last time I was in, the baby was gone. There's a woman who has land with a creek running through it where there are other nutrias, and she has no problem with them nibbling on the reeds and cattails. So he could live a wild life with others of his kind, yet not risk anything because he might be unafraid of her or other human visitors. He's safe with her and is just beginning what sounds like a very happy life.

A Rat It Is Not!

I think we need to shift what the word rodent conjurs up when we hear it. We think of oogly, disease carrying, filthy RATS, with sharp teeth and long wet tails, scurrying around when we least expect it, scaring the shyte out of us.

BUT-- those adorable little squirrels I've been posting about are rodents. Some people refer to them as tree rats. Harsh! Insensitive! Other rodents like the nutria, while not exactly as cuddly, and beavers, a bit more cute, have been casually called water rats. Defamation!

Who doesn't smile at the playful little chipmunk? Well, they are rodents too.

And so is this little being below. I'd never seen one before, and I'm wondering if you ever have. Usually she is curled up in a ball asleep, so this is a rare daytime clip of her in action... well, she seems like she first plays dead then springs back, literally.

She has floppy ears like a bunny, big eyes with long lashes like a giraffe, teeth like a beaver and a tail like a fox. And she hops like a kangaroo (though she doesn't come with the pocket).

It's a SpringHaas (or spring hare). Who knew?!?

This mammal is quite common in the Savannahs of South and East Africa, the desert region. And this soft, fuzzy gal IS considered a rodent, most closely related to squirrels, gophers and beavers.

Springhaas are nocturnal, so they only come to life at night, by literally leaping from the underground burrows in which they sleep. And lively they are, digging holes in dirt and hopping from plant to plant for their bulbs and roots. Their ability to hop 6 feet at a time aids them well in avoiding predators.

Next time you hear the word rodent, you no longer have to think of something icky. Think instead of these crazy little guys, Chip and Dale or Rocky the Flying Squirrel, or even of Baxter, the Nutria. Okay, with Baxter, I may be pushing it...

A Dim Bulb Perhaps, But a Gentleman

I mentioned here that Nutrias, while actually a rodent, were endearing and that I was going to prove it. Here I present my third installment to make my case. I am certain this will seal the deal with you, dear reader.  And if not, I hope it at least amuses you.

Notice the attractive orange teeth, that give the impression the guy is squinting even when he's not. The fact that they can't find the food when it's dropped RIGHT ON THEIR OWN HAND, centimeters from their mouth is why I think they either can't see well or are not so bright or both.

Now doesn't that kinda make you have a soft spot for him?

I have had a dear old friend who in the comments in the last nutria post suggested I name him Baxter.  Done!  I think it's quite perfect don't you?  Now there are several Nutrias in the little lake I visit -- about 4-5 grown ups and at least 2-6 young ones.  In the case I can always refer to them as "the Baxters" which I think works wonderfully well. 

If This Were Shakespeare, Methinks He'd Be The Court Jester

I mentioned here that when Nutrias swim up when I'm feeding the crew at the park, it upsets the apple cart entirely. While the geese are the biggest and the law seems to be that all the rest stand back til they're done, not so when Nutrias try to join in.  Maybe it's because they're oblivious to the pecking order. Here's Mr. Goose taking a stand. The Nurita remains nonplussed, too busy wiggling his whiskers to feel out where the bread is (lower right corner) to grok he's being challenged by the King of Everything.

The funniest thing is that these little fellas are either so dim-sighted or dimwitted (or both) that they're clueless to such advances and their complete non reaction stumps their opponent. As such, it totally deflates the situation; the geese simply give up and swim on their way, and the ducks fan out in their wake. It'd make Ghandi proud.

  

They Need Atkins

This is a Nutria. He looks like a cousin of the Beaver with his big front teeth, webbed back feet and the same glossy brown fur. The only obvious difference is in the tail. Where beavers typically have a paddle shape, the Nutria's looks just like a rat's. In fact, they actually are a semi-aquatic rodent. I know that fact alone might make some people squirm, but they're endearing in their way (and I intend to show you that, in time). 

Two years ago you'd only see them at dusk, perching nervously on the grassy edges of the lake, skittish and shy, hopping back into the safety of the water if a human happened to be walking by.

They're herbivores and should be eating reeds and other water plants, but here he is busy with my piece of bread, clutching it between his hands like a Big Mac. These buggers have gotten so used to getting a few bites from well meaning visitors -- me included --that they've recently gotten far more bold.

Now I see them in abundance in broad daylight, and as soon as they realize a group of ducks are being fed, they upset the apple cart to get theirs. Squinting up at you from the water, they beg. If you don't indulge them, they pull themselves out and walk steadily toward you. You can put up your hand in the stop position or even hold the sole of your foot in their face and they keep advancing (though there's nothing aggressive about their approach, no hissing or teeth). I even had one sit upright on his haunches and becon with one outstretched hand curling back toward his mouth, clearly signaling "Gimme"... the exact hand gesture a human being would make (endearing fact #1)!

While it's pretty clear they can't see too well (and that's very funny -- endearing fact #2) or perhaps they're not bright enough to interpret those cues, in my mind, there's only one explanation for this behavior: they're carb addicted. 

I know how it feels to be craving a potato chip or a flaky croissant and there've been days I'd push someone into traffic to get to some.  I've heard of people for whom even a dog biscuit would do in a pinch (actually, I haven't but it describes the desperation nicely).  I know you're just on the edge of your seat about this, but I have to go to bed.

More to come.