Once celebrated for its tech boom and cultural vibrancy, San Francisco is now grappling with a multifaceted crisis that extends beyond social issues to a surprising new threat: an invasion of nutria. These hefty, 20-pound rodents have infiltrated the Bay Area, raising alarms among wildlife officials and local residents. As nearly 1,000 of these invasive 2.5-foot-long creatures have been hunted this year alone, their rapid expansion into neighboring Contra Costa County poses serious risks to vital water sources and local ecosystems. The state faces a growing challenge to reclaim its environment from this destructive species.
First comes the tech boom, then comes the liberal politicians increasingly radical policies. Then comes the theft, looting and massive homeless drug problem which the city is incapable of fixing, and that ultimately destroys then the city.
Then comes the massive, invasive 20 pound rodents.
This is the stage San Francisco sees itself at now: dealing with a massive rodent problem.
Nearly a thousand nutria have been hunted in the Bay Area this year, but sightings show the invasive 2.5-foot-long rodents have now spread to Contra Costa County, threatening a key watershed, according to a new report from SF Gate. Wildlife officials are urging the public to report any sightings.
Krysten Kellum, spokesperson for California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Matthew Slattengren, Contra Costa County agriculture commissioner, confirmed the discovery in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
The rodents pose a serious threat as they burrow through wetland habitats, damage crops, and can weaken levees, risking failure in a region that supplies water to cities and farms statewide.
The SF Gate report says that nutria can produce up to 200 offspring annually and consume up to 25% of their body weight daily, but destroy up to 10 times more, threatening endangered species and native plants. They also carry diseases like tuberculosis, septicemia, and parasites that can infect humans, pets, and livestock.
Since their first sighting in Merced County in 2017, over 5,000 nutria have been killed in California. Their spread into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta prompted officials to ramp up control efforts to protect the ecosystem.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Peter Tira commented: “We cannot have nutria reproducing in the delta. The threat to California’s economy is too great.”
The first nutria were spotted in Contra Costa County last year, and two were captured on Aug. 15 near Dutch Slough. Their origin and how far they’ve spread remain unclear.
Krysten Kellum, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Bay Delta Region, added: “We have had additional detections of nutria on camera in that area over the last month, but with no additional captures.”
Recent reports indicate that nutria have spread into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where their burrowing habits threaten wetland habitats and key water supply infrastructure. With the potential for each nutria to produce up to 200 offspring annually and the ability to destroy native plants while carrying diseases, the urgency for control measures has intensified. State officials are actively monitoring sightings and ramping up efforts to mitigate the impact of these invasive rodents on California's economy and environment.
