When I first came to Prague, I remember sitting by the Vlatva river bank being shocked (and a bit scared) to see giant rat-like creatures swimming in the water around me. After watching children feeding them carrots and cake, and petting these strange creatures, I was curious and asked around to find out what they were. They are called nutrie in Czech (nutria in English). These large river rodents are actually not native to the Czech Republic, and despite their popularity with children, they are an invasive species!
Nutria can grow to be about the size of a small dog or cat, with adults weighing up to 20 pounds! They are semi-aquatic (meaning they can live partly on land and water), brown and furry, resembling something between a rat and a beaver, with long, thin tails, and webbed feet. Their most striking trait to me, however, was their big, bright orange front teeth! Apparently, this is due to the enamel on their teeth, which contains iron, turning them orange while allowing them to gnaw through tough plants and roots safely.
When I first saw the people feeding and petting the nutria, I thought it was a giant rat and was quite confused.
