Giant Swamp Rats Invade North Texas Park

TRUNEWS with RICK WILES

A park in North Texas is dealing with a new invasive species, and now residents are concerned it could result in destroying the environment and making their water undrinkable.

Over the past year, wildlife experts have been monitoring Krauss Baker Park in Fort Worth. The park recently developed a colony of giant swamp rats as images on social media have shown the enormous rodents feeding alongside ducks.

Swamp rats are incredibly difficult to get under control once they establish a foothold on a particular region.

In California and Louisiana, wildlife officials have been forced to turn to the federal government for help with their own large colonies of these pests. The rodents, also called “nutria”, are capable of singlehandedly destroying an entire ecosystem by eating up to 25 percent of their body weight every day.

Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist Rachel Richter explained the full scope of the danger to WFAA-TV: “They can eat around three pounds a day. If not controlled, you end up with erosion, destabilized banks, decreased water quality, and a lot less of a habitat for native plants, animals, and fish.

“They are harmful to humans because they degrade water quality in water bodies that might be used for recreation or drinking water. They are also vectors for pathogens and parasites that could contaminate a water body and potentially infect people.”

To make matters worse, one female swamp rat is able to have up to 200 offspring in just one year’s time. There are approximately 20 of the rodents in the current colony, most of which are female. Local part officials have responded by demanding that the public not feed the swamp rats. A recent photo surfacing online showed a gang of the rodents eating what appeared to be commercial pet food that had been laid out, likely for ducks.

Congress adopted the Nutria Eradication and Control Act in 2003. Currently, only Maryland and Louisiana are eligible for funding through the legislation. A bill adopted last month would add California. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and John Kennedy are pushing for it to be adopted. The proposed legislation would also double the funding for eradication efforts.

Swamp rats were brought to the U.S. in the late 1800s by fur traders and sold as a means to control invasive plant species, given their enormous appetites. But, instead, they became an invasive species of their own.

This is just one of several “signs of the times” headlines we’re following today. Others include: • Mount Sinabung – Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung erupted today, sending a column of volcanic ash more than 16,000 feet into the air, which then rained down on neighboring villages.

Government officials have placed the volcano on Sumatra Island on the second-highest level of alert, which means residents are being told to stay at least three miles away due to fears of lava flows.

• Tar Heel Quake – Western North Carolina was struck by the largest earthquake to hit the area in more than a century on Sunday. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the temblor registered as a 5.1-magnitude event centered beneath the town of Sparta. The quake was preceded by four small “foreshocks” of 2.1 to 2.6 magnitude. No injuries or major damage was reported. The quake was felt in parts of South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

• Record Setter? – The National Hurricane Center in Miami is tracking a tropical wave 600 miles southwest of Cabo Verde that could form into the North Atlantic’s 10th named storm of the 2020 hurricane season. If that happens this week, it will be the earliest-recorded use of the “J” name on the annual list of storm names.

Currently, the system has a 60 percent chance of forming into a tropical storm in the next five days. Its current track will have it passing over the Caribbean this weekend. (Photo Credit: Maryland Department of Natural Resources) www.trunews.com