There was a big article in the local newspaper this morning about how nutria are moving into the Sacramento River delta, and will ruin our wetlands and dikes if we don't do something about it.  There was a brief mention that they are hunted in the south, and a quick check of the internet indicates that they are edible.

Has anyone here ever hunted and/or eaten one?  Would you recommend it?

I'm sure a Louisiana boy on here can tell you how to eat swamp rats.  I've shot them with air rifles but never ate one.  They are fun to hunt.

QuoteOriginally posted by BHall:
I'm sure a Louisiana boy on here can tell you how to eat swamp rats.  I've shot them with air rifles but never ate one.  They are fun to hunt.

Yes sir! I can attest to them being good eat'n lol
I chicken fried some and it was delicious!

Basinboy, have you hunted them with a bow?  I'm wondering if that's something I ought to think about.  The Sacramento River delta is something like the Everglades or bayous, where the river has slowed way down as it makes its way around hundreds of islands, where the nutria and other animals dig into the banks.  Of course, whether the law would permit me to bowhunt nutria from a kayak is another question, which I would have to figure out for myself.  But they should let me, if the nutria is a big a threat to the delta as the article indicated.

I saw an article two weeks ago and mentioned it on another site.  Heck a 20 pound target would be great.  Sounds like a night spotlight activity

McDave-

A quick internet search referencing nutria will show how much time, effort and money that was expended trying to get rid of them in the Chesapeake Bay region. They are a scourge to wetlands and marsh habitats for sure! I have included a link to the USF&WS website with information.

https://www.fws.gov/chesapeakenutriaproject/

They are non-native and an invasive species. Hopefully you are free to take them at will.

OkKeith

As I see it, anything with orange teeth like that probably NEEDS to be shot, Dave.....      

Jimmie

Shot one a few years ago, but unfortunately it looks like the Photobucket pics are lost.  Tasted pretty good as cacciatore.  Recipe I used is in this link.  I think it might be better cooked on the grill, because it has a very soft texture.


http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=101741#000000

The govment thought it was a good idea to bring them here.
I think they were supposed to hydrila.

Dave, if California Wildlife officials handle nuisance animal problems like they do here in Mississippi you won't be able to hunt them with a Broadhead outside of deer season and those are tough critters.

The Maryland Traditional Bowhunters used to have an annual nutria hunt. I worked on the Chesapeake bay project so I never made a sport of it, but it sure would have been fun when there were numbers.

Grew up hunting them.  Along with muskrats and beaver.  My job was to keep the burrows from causing earthen dam failures.  Or the tractors from getting stuck in the tunnels.  I like the taste of nutrias better than the other two.  Even tho some folks rave about beaver tail.  I think ground hog is better than all three.
MAP

California may see them as a problem, especially since damage to dikes in the Central Valley would cost millions, they would opt to make them subject to special tags/fees.  Ranchers/farms would also demand a take.   Just like hogs

Get a hold of "Tony Sanders" he hunts them and eat them. Read a couple stories in the past of Tony's exploits with those critters.

Good eating.  I never hunted them with a bow back home in Louisiana, only rifle.  In the swamps and marshes we hunted I was worried about recovery since they hit the water fast if not killed instantly.

QuoteOriginally posted by wislnwings:
Good eating.  I never hunted them with a bow back home in Louisiana, only rifle.  In the swamps and marshes we hunted I was worried about recovery since they hit the water fast if not killed instantly.

Ditto on what Craig says here. They will hit the water quick and most likely not recovered. But there is now a $ bounty on them here in Louisiana. I know some guys that kill $1,000 worth in a weekend on their leases. Louisiana tried to promote them as good table fare but the thought of eating a big rat to some folks didn catch on. They eat only vegetation, basically a big rabbit with a long tail that swims lol

Corey,

Bob that tail off and give it some longer ears and just maybe we can think rabbit

Thanks for all your responses.  I would prefer to hunt things I can eat, but there are exceptions.  The duck clubs around Sacramento kill all the beaver in their clubs, as they screw up the duck hunting habitat, and of course all the carp die in the spring as the duck ponds dry up.  I assume from the article that efforts to kill nutria would be even more aggressive, as they seem to be more worried about the nutria than they are about the beaver and carp.  The carp and beaver come back the next year, as I suppose they survive in other places.  So if the opportunity arises, I will probably go bow hunting for nutria, even though I might not be able to recover any, since they are marked for extermination anyway.

The marshes of Dorchester Co., MD were infested with them 25 years ago. They will kill a marsh dead in a few years because they not only eat the marsh plants but the roots too. The marshes will look like denuded mud flats. We could hear them calling in the marsh when we Sika deer hunted. They sounded like a sheep bahhhhing.

They have been eradicated and I believe the state put a bounty on them and trappers did the rest.

QuoteOriginally posted by McDave:
Basinboy, have you hunted them with a bow?  I'm wondering if that's something I ought to think about.  The Sacramento River delta is something like the Everglades or bayous, where the river has slowed way down as it makes its way around hundreds of islands, where the nutria and other animals dig into the banks.  Of course, whether the law would permit me to bowhunt nutria from a kayak is another question, which I would have to figure out for myself.  But they should let me, if the nutria is a big a threat to the delta as the article indicated.

No Sir I have not but man that would be a blast!