Resident Coypu

[Chezstevens]

Good morning,

Just done a search on the forum with no results - probably 'cos I have not spelled the beast correctly.  I am away for a couple of weeks and SWMBO has just told me that a large, friendly beast has taken up residence in our small coppice and comes out to our spring and bathes in the muddy pond.  Ducks are not worried, just lie down in a circle and watch it - so eliminates a carnivore!  Beastie not worried by dotty wife sneaking up and taking photos. 

I think it is probably a coypu (apologies for spelling) or ragondin (apologies for spelling) - several 1000 miles from dictionary.

We are delighted it is in residence - does it do any damage?  If so what sort of damage?  We have an acre so welcome its arrival as long as it doesn't emulate a beaver and dam the spring!   At least in our garden it is safe from our village chums with guns.

[Ejc]

Hi,

They are pretty destructive to the banks of ponds / rivers etc and can I understand get pretty territorial - there have been quite a few postings on problems that people have had with them along with various advice on how to get rid of them. They are a rodent I believe from South America originally and a bit like a very large rat and are also known as swamp beavers - there some info on them here:

http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th1f.htm

Personally I wouldn't want them around our home / ponds and would take steps to remove them.

[Chezstevens]

Mmmm .... I don't mind one fella around but the idea of a breeding pair producing up to 18 young a year - the mind boggles.  Sadly we may have to let our dogs, under control, into the back garden to frighten it off.

Seems a shame but obviously the environmentalists looked at the problem when they eradicated them from the Broads.

[Deimos]

Getting your dogs to chase them off might not be a good idea. Some will run off when chased by dogs, others will not. Seems to vary between individual Radondins. Possible that the dog might get between the Ragondin and the "escape route" If they are threatened they will defend themselves and then you are likely to need to take your dog to the vet for some serious reconstruction surgery. They can do a fair amount of damage to a dog.

Also, they can carry leptospirosis. Most dogs will be vaccinated against that (don't know if you are). However, a local piegeur (who was trapping Ragondin) said that the vaccine is not particularly effective against the strain of Leptospirosis carried by the Ragondin (just repeating what the guy said). Certainly he was being very careful with the ones he caught.

They are considered a pest (they are an "introduced" species and do a lot of damage). Around me registered piegeurs get paid €1.5 for each one caught (they have to keep the tails as proof) and theyre is a communal freezer for corpses that are then collected and disposed of safely).

Ian

[cally50]

I leave ' ours ' well alone in our streams , they haven't done any significant damage and even though they've been there years I've only spotted one at a time so I don't think they are likely to overrun an area they are more likely to go off to seek new territories .

Don't like the way the chasse deal with them , cutting there tails off then leaving them in the cage to die a very long death - have seen with my own eyes

[Logan]

Ragondin or Coypu are rodets and a seriously destructive pest. They feed on almost any vegetation they can find and will eat their way through your garden. The also breed rapidly a female can have up to 5 litters a year. They destroy the banks of rivers and lakes and infect the water with the Leptospirosis virus. Most Mairies in SW France have a period of culling to control them. Usually by poison. I usually shoot mine with a rifle and a bright light at night. Not sporting I know but effective.

[Deimos]

Whenever I've seen my local piegeur kill them (quite a few), he always kills them and makes sure they are very dead before cutting off the tail. From having seen then in the traps there is no way any sane person would put their hand in to do something like cut off. Far too risky given the diseases they carry.

When you approach them in traps some will retreat into a corner and try and hide whilst others will lurch towards you hissing. Both "types" will try and defend themselves when "pushed".

cally50, Last year a piegeur came to catch something else and also put some Ragondin traps out in a field by the mill stream - somewhere I had never seen any Ragondin. He then proceeded to can one of two per day for several weeks. They also had done "no visible damage". However, unfortunately they live underground and make they tunnels running back from the water. They don't make giant mole hills, but all the soil goes out into the river/lake. After time the bank can get unstable and collapse. As far as I'm aware they all live like this and so must damage the banks.

You might find that your local commune is "keeping the numbers down". Round me poisoning them is now illegal and so they do it all with traps. Most people who live along the river also have their own traps as well as those the piegeur has. In fact when they have a campaign (Sept/Oct round me) the piegeurs tend to borrow traps from the local mills.

It is suprising how one can see them so rarely yet when they start to be caught it is unbelievable how many there actually are around (just by the numbers that are caught in a short period of time).

Ian

[cally50]

Glad to know your piegeur is more professional , if these cullings are necessary then I would hope the end is quick without needless suffering . They are very shy creatures normally and as you say there could easily be more

regs cally

[suzi05]

I feel I have to put in a good word for my friends the Coypu (s?). We have hundreds of them living here on our island with us. They do tunnel into the ditch banks and cause a bit of damage there, they also eat all new and juicy shoots they can get their paws on. However, they don't eat trees, vines or things that are too tasty (they leave garlic, onions, and even rocket well alone!) and don't usually bother tunneling under chicken wire put around the veg garden. They are generally very friendly - you can tame them with a piece of bread or lettuce and then they behave pretty much like a pet rabbit. They are relatives of the beaver and they were originally introduced for their fur (or so I beleive) which is waterproof. And if that's not enough, the baby ones are possibly the cutest things ever when learning to swim!!  

I have dogs which are fans of the coypu for very diferent reason - it is true that when cornered they stand up and fight (wouldn't you?!) and their teeth do alot of damage. I have had to have my dogs stitched up a few times, and do try to stop them hunting them when i can. I wouldn't recommend you get your dogs to chase off your resident furry friend - he'll probably move house on his own once he knows dogs are around. Re Lepto - our dogs and those of our neighbours are vaccinated on recomendation from the vet and have never had any problems despite coypu being their favourite between meals snack!

We had an old coypu that lived in our garden (before we had dogs). He was great friends with a coq we had at the time, and perfectly content to spend his days mowing our lawn for us. Shame we couldn't have trained a few of his friends to join him and finish the job!

suzi

www.patiras.com/trinite.htm

[Logan]

I do appreciate your sentiments Suzi but if we were all so tolerant of the pesky critters there would be more of them than us. Rodents have to be controlled I am afraid. We humans create the perfect environment for them to thrive.  If not destruction, then disease will follow.

[Dick Smith]

And that Coypu are not a native species, so have a false place in the ecosystems they invade and exploit.

[jonesenfrance]

Our pond was practically drained last year as a result of all the underground tunnels the coypu have made. I think they are very destructive and wouldn't want them around.

 

Melanie

[Bugsy]

We've got a few in and around our river bank. They are very interesting to watch and show no fear of me. Fascinating creatures.

[Anyone for Cricket?]

We have coypu's on our lake and as we have dogs they spend thie time on an island which the dogs can't reach, they are cute to watch, just like otters, they are not a problem to us at all and we are happy for them to live on their own island and despite the tales of tunnelling it has yet to sink.  I am all for control but not for the sake of it, our local large fishing lake has lots and no one seems to bother them either, they too are on an island but are braver than ours as they see people all the time and so swim up and down in day light.  They didn't ask to be introduced and so whilst not a native species it's hardly their fault, bird lovers feel the same way about cats but no one suggest a culling!

[Jonzjob]

[quote user="jpe"]bird lovers feel the same way about cats but no one suggest a culling![/quote]

Who doesn't [6][Www]!

Cats are VERY wary in our garden. Our dog loves cats too, but I don't think she could eat a whole one?[:D]

 

[Megan le Fey]

Mine could, a whole one each[6][:D]

[Deimos]

[quote user="Jonzjob"]

Our dog loves cats too, but I don't think she could eat a whole one?[:D]

[/quote]

Mine could (at least he gives the impression he could - he's never actually been given the opportunity).

Ian

[rusheslake]

Ive seen the result of an unprovoked attack on a Alsation/Labrador cross, a huge gash in his chest, have you actually seen the size of the teeth on them????????

Your lake water will almost certainly be infected by Weils Disease which these creatures spread.

Control is necessary!

[Deimos]

[quote user="rusheslake"]Ive seen the result of an unprovoked attack on a Alsation/Labrador cross, a huge gash in his chest, have you actually seen the size of the teeth on them???????? Your lake water will almost certainly be infected by Weils Disease which these creatures spread. Control is necessary![/quote]

I agree. They are great to watch and it is true it is not their fault they are here. However, they are doing vast damage to the environment and other species (the ones who should be here).

I've not myself seen the damage their teeth can do to a dog but have seen a lot of their teeth close-up (I regularly find their skulls around the place). Most seem to run away from my dogs but every now and again you get one who just sits there - and I guess that is the dangerous individual (danger to dogs as they can get close and the Ragondin concerned can then not get away).

Local trapper was telling me that the Leptospirosis strain they carry is slightly different from the "normal one" and thus you pet's Leptospirosis vaccinations will not be as effective against it. Getting rid of them through trapping seems quite humane (certainly around me poisoning them has been banned).

Ian

[Bugsy]

[quote user="rusheslake"]Ive seen the result of an unprovoked attack on a Alsation/Labrador cross, a huge gash in his chest, have you actually seen the size of the teeth on them

[/quote]

It is exceptionally rare for an animal to attack for no reason, most given the opportunity will move away rather than fight or attack. They attack for food and if they feel threatened. Dogs are naturally curious and do tend to 'have a look' when they see something unusual and this is probably the reason for such an awful outcome as the alsation recieved. Our boxer was bitten by a snake a couple of years ago, we'd seen the snake and he was moving away from us, but the dog just couldn't resist 'one last look'. Fortunately, it was a grass snake.