Coypu Myocastor coypus

The Coypu, called Nutria in North America, is a cat-sized rodent. It is vegetarian and semi-acquatic like a cross between its water-loving larger relative the Capybara and a Water Vole. It nests in burrows by water.

It is native to the southern half of South America but has feral populations (escapees from fur farms) in parts of North America, Europe, Africa and Asia (those in the UK were eradicated in the 1960s and again in the 1980s). Thanks to Dr Harsha Vardhan Reddy for the photos above, taken in France.