San Fran Now Overrun with Invasive 20 Pound Rodent Infestation

[FlyersFan]

I had no idea where to put this.
And at first I thought it was a joke article, but turns out it's real.

20 pound rats called nutria rats, measuring 2.5 feet long, invasive from South America, have invaded San Francisco.  They mess up the water systems and each female can have up to 200 offspring each year.   How on earth did this happen?  How did this South American rat take old in North America?  How'd it get here?  San Francisco is a sanctuary city .. did the illegals bring them in as pets and them let them go?  This is wild.

Reminds me of the Prince Bride movie.   ROUS ... Rodents Of Unusual Size.  

Full Societal Collapse - San Fran Now Overrun with Invasive 20 Pound Rodent Infestation

Nearly a thousand nutria have been hunted in the Bay Area this year, but sightings show the invasive 2.5-foot-long rodents have now spread to Contra Costa County, threatening a key watershed, according to a new report from SF Gate. Wildlife officials are urging the public to report any sightings.
 
Krysten Kellum, spokesperson for California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Matthew Slattengren, Contra Costa County agriculture commissioner, confirmed the discovery in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
 
The rodents pose a serious threat as they burrow through wetland habitats, damage crops, and can weaken levees, risking failure in a region that supplies water to cities and farms statewide.

The SF Gate report says that nutria can produce up to 200 offspring annually and consume up to 25% of their body weight daily, but destroy up to 10 times more, threatening endangered species and native plants. They also carry diseases like tuberculosis, septicemia, and parasites that can infect humans, pets, and livestock.