Here is a quiz for you. Who is this guy?

Here is a new guy I spotted recently.
Any ideas on what he/she is?

A beaver you say? Not quite. 

But, he is in the rodent family, like the beaver, just smaller.
Only 16-24 inches long, excluding it's 12-18 inch long tail .
The average one is 10 to 15 pounds. 
But that's enough to be major source of protein in some diets.

Its the Nutria, or Coypu, as it is called in South America, where it originated.

Here's another picture.

 It might look small, but it would scare the living daylights out of you if it came close, I swear!

This one was at the marshland of Port Aransas, where birds like to congregate.
(Incidentally there is at least one alligator there too.)

So, how did he/she get there?
Well, do you old folks remember the first "informational" programs on TV?
Around 11 PM to 1 AM back in the 1960's and 70's?
Remember how you could make so much money by raising Chinchillas and then selling them off to furriers?
From what I remember, some of the people who ordered those cute Chinchillas to raise got these, not-so-pretty guys instead. 
There was a commotion for a while back then. 

Well, it seems that many were let loose by their new owners, and now you find these guys free in all continents (except Australia?)! They survived quite well.
Some consider them "invasive" because they seem to eat lots of the local plant (25% of it's body weight per day, year-round!) and thus run off local animal.

Anyway, I decided to watch this one for a while.
After 10 minutes I suddenly noted that a tiny baby had come out of the water to visit with mom.

After about 3 minutes they disappeared into the water again.

And here is another interesting fact:
Did you know the mom's nipples are further out from its belly than many other rodents?
That's so she and the baby can both go hide in the muddy water (same color as her fur)
and the baby can be nursing with his head barely above the water.

OK, OK. I have said enough.
But now you know the rest of their story.