Coypu

Myocastor coypus

Coypus are large, furry animals that live near water. They have webbed feet and love to swim! You can often find them munching on plants by rivers and lakes.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Coypu is a large, semi-aquatic rodent with dense brown fur and a long, scaly tail. Its bright orange incisors, high-set eyes, and distinct white muzzle make it easily recognizable and different from a beaver or muskrat.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumChordataClassMammaliaOrderRodentiaFamilyMyocastoridaeGenusMyocastor

Coypu

Interesting facts

Baby coypus can swim and eat plants just hours after they are born!

Coypus are also called nutria, which means 'otter' in Spanish.

They build floating nests from plants, sometimes big enough for a small person!

They make squeals, grunts, and even chattering noises to talk to each other.

Special abilities

Coypu can swim gracefully underwater because of its webbed hind feet that help it glide through water.

Coypu has strong, bright orange incisors that help them gnaw through tough plant stems and roots.

Coypu has high-set eyes, ears, and nostrils that help them see, hear, and breathe while mostly submerged.

Coypu can nurse its young while swimming because its nipples are located high on its flanks.

Measurements & details

Length: 40-60 cm
Weight: 5-9 kg
Lifespan: 3-6 years
Top Speed: 15 km/h
Litter Size: 4-6
Gestation: 127-132 days

Diet & Feeding

Coypus are veggie lovers, munching on roots, stems, and leaves of many different water plants.

Primary Foods

Roots
Stems
Leaves
Aquatic grasses
Crop plants
Tree bark

Foraging Method

Foraging

Ecological connections

eaten by

American Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis

Alligators hunt coypus in areas where their ranges overlap.

eaten by

Coyote

Canis latrans

Coyotes may prey on coypu, especially younger or smaller individuals.

eats

Cattail

Typha latifolia

Coypus eat the roots, stems, and leaves of cattail plants.

eats

Common Reed

Phragmites australis

Coypus consume the stems and roots of common reeds, altering wetlands.

Traits

Furry

Furry describes animals possessing a dense covering of soft hair or fur.

Webbed Feet

Characterized by having toes connected by a membrane, typically aiding in swimming.

Social

Social animals live in organized groups, cooperating for survival benefits such as foraging, defense, and raising offspring.

Herbivorous

This trait characterizes organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of plant material.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.