Invasion of 20-pound rodents wreaking havoc on California may have been intentional: officials (nutria)

California is under invasion from a 20-pound rodent once believed to have been eradicated from the state – and officials now fear humans may be to blame. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said DNA testing of the 2.5-foot-long pest, known as a nutria, shows the current population is linked to animals in Oregon, not to the species that roamed California in the 1970s before being wiped out. “This study supports our long-held belief that the current invasion is the result of reintroduction rather than explosive growth of a remnant, undetected population,” the CDFW ‘s Nutria Eradication Program Manager...