Nutrias in the Leuben gravel pit: residents feed the cute rodents and use it to breed a problem.
Dresden – Although it is still too cold to swim, the Leuben gravel pit is currently very busy. And that both on and in the water.
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The rodents do not allow themselves to be disturbed by the people at the lake. © Thomas Türpe
The reason are the cute little residents who have been spreading there for some time. They are actually at home in South America …
What is meant are the nutrias, of which dozens have made themselves comfortable in the water. Residents have already sighted up to 30 animals at a time. And that’s not particularly difficult.
Because the rodents are sometimes quite trusting and allow themselves to be fed. They willingly fetch the lettuce leaves that local residents bring to them. A real land of milk and honey, because the animals have no real enemies here.
However, that is exactly what could be a problem. “The nutria is one of the invasive species and is able to damage an ecosystem,” warns Matthias Jentzsch (58), Professor of Biodiversity and Nature Conservation at the HTW Dresden.
Due to their meter-deep structures, they can also cause considerable damage to dams and dykes. Therefore he warns against a misunderstood love of animals.
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Biologist Matthias Jentzsch (58) from HTW Dresden. © private
Because in this way a few animals can quickly become very many. “Nutrias can have five to twelve young two to three times a year.”
If you get too close to the Nutrias and they feel threatened, the encounter can also end painfully. “They know how to defend themselves. Dogs have already been bitten in Leipzig,” says Jentzsch.
The arboreal pipit in the neighboring allotment garden has not had any problems with the nutrias so far.
“They haven’t annoyed us yet. Only the wild boars do that,” says club boss Thomas Fischer.
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