The History of Louisiana's Swamp Rats

The Myocastor coypus, which you may know as the nutria or “swamp rat”, is an invasive species of South American rodent overtaking Louisiana’s coastal swamplands. This swampland invader has quite the storied history, with several legends regarding its origins in Louisiana swamps. One of the most pervasive legends of how the nutria came to Louisiana is through the historical owner of the Tabasco Hot Sauce company, Ned McIlhenny. While it's unclear who brought the nutria to Louisiana first, McIlhenny is largely credited with creating the wild populations. McIlhenny’s investment in nutria was inspired by the actual man who brought them to the United States, William Franklin Frakes. Frakes brought the nutria into California in 1899 as a furbearer. With muskrat populations dwindling in Louisiana, McIlhenny was inspired to import these critters into Louisiana as an investment towards the local fur industry.  

While historians are unsure if a hurricane freed McIlhenny’s Nutrias or if he chose to release them, the nutria ended up establishing a solid wild population in our wetlands in the early 20th century. Wild trapped nutria became the stronghold of the Louisiana fur and trapping industry during the 20th century, becoming a vital replacement for the previously sought after muskrat, whose population was nearly gone due to disease and climate. Revitalizing the market, nutria fur made Louisiana one of North America’s top fur producers and played an important role in Louisiana’s economy. The nutria’s fur is considered medium weight but comparable in quality to the heavier weight beaver. This lightweight feature  made nutria an ideal fur for lining coats. Most Louisiana caught nutria was exported to Europe and New York to be made into high end coats, or processed into felt for hats. In fact, nutria coats were so popular during the mid/early 20th century, that a number of Hollywood stars (like Greta Garbo!) wore nutria fur. 

Greta Garbo in nutria. Image Credits: Bundesarchiv, Bild/Wikipedia Commons

For most of the 20th century the wild nutria populations were kept under relative control by the trapping and fur industry, the swamp rat was even granted status as a protected furbearer to ensure no overhunting. However, the demand for fur products began to dwindle in the 1980s as people moved away from animal products, causing the now unpursued nutria population to soar. With the rise in nutria reproduction, our coastal wetlands started to become devastated by these invaders. Nutrias began to over consume our coastal plants, whose roots play a vital role in holding together marsh soil. The degradation of wetlands by nutria is also causing our natural species to lose their habitat and populations to decline. Recognizing the devastating effect of nutria, the Louisiana Department of Fish and Wildlife incentivizes trappers with a $6 bounty per nutria tail. However, without a current global market demand for fur, much of the animal goes to waste. 

The use of nutria fur can be considered an important form of waste reduction.  Utilizing this abundant resource helps protect our wetlands from the effects of an invasive species, and minimizes our reliance on the petrochemical industry by avoiding synthetic fur alternatives. Many people, including Tchoup Industries, consider nutria fur a “guilt free” option. We are partnering with trappers dedicated to preserving our fragile ecosystems by managing the nutria population. Through this collaboration, we’re able to finally bring back the beloved Le Tour Nutria bag, as well as create new and exciting products to help reduce waste from nutria trapping!

Shop our current nutria items online here.

Written by Tori Coover on behalf of Tchoup Industries.

https://hnoc.org/publishing/first-draft/how-nutria-took-over-louisiana-and-what-locals-have-done-stop-them.

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/fashion/18nutria.html.

http://www.righteousfur.com/.

https://www.proquest.com/openview/921f36c1e570742c7a40df73455f4f86/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y