Gustav Washes Ashore Hundreds Of Dead Nutria
State, Hancock Co. To Remove Animals
POSTED: 10:43 am CDT September 4,
2008
UPDATED: 11:21 am CDT September 4,
2008
WAVELAND, Miss. -- Hundreds of dead nutria -- victims of Hurricane Gustav -- have washed up on the beach in Waveland.The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency also reported that workers have found dead hogs and segulls that have washed up on the beaches in Biloxi and Gulfport.Officials with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said that they will work with Hancock County to remove the dead animals, some of which are floating in the water about 1.5 miles from the Silver Slipper Casino in Bay St. Louis.
Wildlife officials said that nutria arrived in Louisiana from South America in the 1900s and were raised by commercial farmers for their fur, but they can damage freshwater marshes.When Hurricane Audrey hit Louisiana in 1957, the nutria escaped and repopulated quickly.Officials said Nutria repopulate rather quickly -- producing two litters of four or five babies a year.
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