09:17 AM PDT on Friday, April 14, 2006

Associated Press

SEATTLE - A water-loving rodent that's already a pest in southwest Washington near Vancouver and the Skagit Valley has shown up in Seattle.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Nutria are smaller than beavers and cause problems by digging through dikes and levies.

A trapper has caught nine nutria along the shores of Lake Washington. Two University of Washington students also are studying the invaders to help determine where they might go next.

Nutria are smaller than beaver and cause problems by digging through dikes and levies.

A new state Invasive Species Council will come up with a plan for controlling nutria and other non-native pests.

Also called South American swamp rats, nutria were brought to North America for their fur. But without natural predators like alligators and caiman, nutria have spread to 15 states.

The bucktoothed rodents eat a quarter of their weight a day, destroying wetlands.