ifyou see one of these in your backyard or trashcan..shoot it! (house, summer)

[OneJackson]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Might not be a rat, but it's still a rodent (yuuuck!!), and can be just really destructive. They are an invasive non-native pest species.

I would never go near one, period.

right!...and the fleas and other possible diseases they carry sleeping and living in standing water?...ewww. ...disgusting

[TexasHorseLady]

I grant you the non-native invasive species - they really shouldn't be here, they should be in South America, and importing them was one of those "but it seemed like a good idea at the time!" mistakes. But the rest? They sleep in burrows, not in standing water, though the entrance is often under water for security reasons. As I said, they tend to be very tidy about themselves, much like cats. They're pretty friendly, once they get to know you, and pretty intelligent, too.

So, any "ewwww!" factor, from someone who's known them pretty well, has to be on the part of the person, not the nutria itself.

[wpttrmom]

I've seen these at Landa park and didn't know what they were...we even fed them bread

[OneJackson]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

they tend to be very tidy about themselves, much like cats.

don't start a new thread...cats are disgusting...so eww on them too.

They're pretty friendly, once they get to know you, and pretty intelligent, too.

There's nothing friendly about a giant Rat in my backyard burrowing and eating up my plants making enemies with my dog.

[OneJackson]

Originally Posted by wpttrmom

I've seen these at Landa park and didn't know what they were...we even fed them bread

DON'T FEED THE RATS!

[TexasHorseLady]

My point was, some people like dogs and hate cats, some people like cats and hate dogs, some people (like me) like both, and that has little or nothing to do with the animals themselves and everything to do with the people who like or dislike one or the other. No matter what they tell themselves.

[OneJackson]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

My point was, some people like dogs and hate cats, some people like cats and hate dogs, some people (like me) like both, and that has little or nothing to do with the animals themselves and everything to do with the people who like or dislike one or the other. No matter what they tell themselves.

Why did you get rid of your Nutria pet?

[TexasHorseLady]

There were a couple of them, raised from babies, at different times. They each decided, at a certain point, gradually that they wanted to live in the wild (which pretty much surrounded us at the time - "Don't leave the yard" meant 800 acres) and we let them. If that hadn't happened, they'd be gone by now, anyway, given that that was 50 years ago, give or take.

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by jobert

I have to disagree with that statement. Being able to see deer and other wildlife from my back window is one of the little things that make living in Austin desirable. You won't know what you have until it's gone. (and please do not respond by quoting Joni Mitchell, ty.)

I love deer- in the wild. But when there are deers lying dead and swollen up in the street- as one was at Doss Elementary School not too long ago- the time for roaming deer is up. Also, they cause lots of property damage and are typhus deer carriers. I don't want to pave paradise, but there is a time and place for everything.

[capcat]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

I love deer- in the wild. But when there are deers lying dead and swollen up in the street- as one was at Doss Elementary School not too long ago- the time for roaming deer is up. Also, they cause lots of property damage and are typhus deer carriers. I don't want to pave paradise, but there is a time and place for everything.

The city will pick them up fairly quickly, if someone calls. Or they did a few months ago when I called 311 about one.