Coypu

Description

Manners with twilight and night tendency, it can have a considerable diurnal activity. Present in only some French departments during its introduction, it is from now on present in more than 70 departments. It colonized areas such as the Marais Poitevin, the the Camargue or the Landes to a lesser extent. It is now present in the areas of the south of France (the Eastern Pyrenees, Aude, Gard, Tarn, Haute-Garonne,…) but one also sporadically finds it in certain areas more in north (southern of the Ile-de-France and Alsace in particular…).

The cold is a limiting factor and the rigorous winters are fatal for them. Of tropical origin, the organization of the coypu is not adapted to freezing like that of the beaver. At the time of rigorous winters, many coypus have the tail which freezes, which degenerates into gangrene mortal.

The coypu is recognizable to its 4 large Incisive S orange drawing on the red. In its environment of origin, the populations of coypus are controlled naturally by its Prédateur S, like the caiman and the Puma. In the countries where it was introduced, it does not have any natural predator, all at least in an adult state. Indeed the young coypus are sometimes the preys of predatory mammals like the Fouine, or of the birds like the Busard of the reeds and the Barn owl.

It is distinguished from the Muskrat by its more important size and the section of its tail, round in the coypu whereas it is oval in the muskrat.

Habitat

The coypu is an animal preferring to live in the aquatic environments of fresh water, sometimes brackish. To the rivers and rivers of South America from where it comes, from now on all the hydraulic networks are added constituting its new habitat in the countries where it was introduced: ditches and channels connecting the marshes. It digs a Terrier from 6 to 7 m along the banks. This burrow in general has several entries, including one subaqueous. In certain areas with very strong density of coypus, and when it has at its disposal a vast network of ditches and channels, the burrows of the coypu take part in the destabilization of the banks. By the quantity of ground exported in water with each burrow dug, the coypu also causes the acceleration of the filling of the ditches and channels. It uses sometimes the burrows already dug by the Muskrat, with which it enters sometimes in competition. It can also build huts of foliages.

Food mode

Herbivorous rodent , its mode is normally consisted barley seeds of the hills and roots. Nevertheless it adapts very quickly to the available resources on its territory. It thus consumes a great quantity of Poacées, in particular of the Céréale S like the Maïs, the Blé. Eat also fish, moulds of fresh water, crayfish, and sometimes its congeneric when it is very hungry (personal observations).

Reproduction

In its, the coypu reaches its sexual Maturité around 6 months, but is mature as of 2 to 4 months in captivity. The males are active sexually all the year. The female has 2 or 3 ranges per annum of 5 or 7 small on average. She nurses them during 7 to 8 weeks. Particular fact, the females do not have their udders under the belly like the majority of the mammals but off-set towards the sides, which enables them to swim with their small hung to tétines.

The coypu and the man

In certain countries the coypu is classified among the Nuisible S because of the damage caused by its burrows and its appetite for the cultures near its territory in the absence of Prédateur S.

In France it is registered officially on the Liste of the likely animals of harmful classified beings. In certain areas it was the subject of collective fight plans, on a ten scale of communes. The methods of fight against the coypu are the same ones as those authorized for the other harmful species (except for the shooting with the flight of course): shooting with rifle, shooting with the arc, poisoning (now prohibited), trapping, unearthing… . As a Game, it can be driven out or high for the skin and the meat, subject holding the Certificate of Competence corresponding, on the same basis for example as a breeding of Biche or Sanglier.

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