Thousands of Dead Nutria

What was first believed to be a couple of hundred dead nutria of the Mississippi coast has ballooned to more than 7,000 animals.

By: WKRG Staff | WKRG-TV
Published: September 09, 2008

» Comments | Post a Comment

WAVELAND, Miss. (AP) - What was originally thought as a few
hundred nutria killed during Hurricane Gustav has swelled into
thousands as clean-up of the dead animals continues.
Hancock County and state officials say a cleanup on the beaches
near Waveland that began this week has pulled in more than an
estimated 7,000 of the animals.
There have been no reports of a public health problem because of
the nutria.
What began as a local and state effort is now being handled by a
private contractor and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The animals, imported from South America many years ago, are
thought to have been washed up from marshes, barrier islands and
Louisiana. They were initially found twisted up in tons of sea
grass that washed ashore.