We've seen a nutria or coypu once before, in the Jordan River between Israel and Jordan. I've also cooked and eaten it once. We saw our second nutria recently in the Concho River which winds through San Angelo, Texas.
I saw a large rodent swimming and was not sure if it was a beaver, a muskrat or even an otter. The thought of a nutria didn't even cross my mind. We followed it around a bend and found it standing on the edge of the river and it allowed us to get quite close to it.
It did not have the paddle tail of a beaver, the shape of an otter and it was much too large for a muskrat. Judy announced it was a nutria. She was right. After we got some close-up photos, the nutria plunged back into the river and quickly swam across toward the far bank.
This was a very cool experience. He was pretty bold, and I think that shows in his face in your photo. That orange blob on his face is so weird. Did you figure out what it is?
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