Ondatra - Snake Tail

Nutria was artificially introduced to the territory of Kyrgyzstan in 1944.

Nutria is native to America—a typical rodent from the family of mice. Externally, it resembles a rat and is often referred to as a muskrat. On average, it weighs about one kilogram, sometimes nearly two. Its dense, cylindrical body starts with a blunt head and ends with a bare, scaly tail. The nutria is colored a delicate brown on top and a grayish-blue on the bottom. It has a short neck, a small blunt head, small eyes, short ears, and long, stiff whiskers. The tail is long, covered in scales, and almost hairless. Its legs are short but equipped with strong claws adapted for digging in the ground. The hind feet have webbing between the long toes.

It inhabits water bodies everywhere except in the Naryn region. Nutrias dig underground burrows, making the entrance below the water level. During winter, they create nests from plants, held together with soil. They feed on plants along the shoreline. They can reach a length of 55-60 cm, half of which is the tail.

Very prolific. In a favorable year, they can have up to 3-4 litters, each containing 6-8 young.

The Department of Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Management of Kyrgyzstan has begun conducting an annual spring count of nutrias.

The department has been tasked with strengthening efforts to protect nutrias as well as their habitat.

It should be noted that the nutria is a commercially hunted animal and often becomes a target for poachers. In Kyrgyzstan, in 2014, the pelt of the animal was valued at 200 soms ($4 at the 2014 exchange rate).

Nutria was artificially introduced to the territory of Kyrgyzstan in 1944. Until the beginning of the 21st century, an average of 70,000 nutria pelts were produced annually in the country. The average fine for shooting a nutria is 1500 soms ($31).

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