page_title: Nutria fur
section_title: History of the fur
hierarchical_section_title: Nutria fur / History of the fur
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Naturelles Nutriafell
context_page_description: Nutria fur, also known as coypu fur, is used in the fashion industry. It comes from the coypu, a South American rodent and cousin of the beaver.
context_section_description: The nutria is a semi-aquatic mammal native to South America. It first became internationally popular as a fur in the 1930s, when it was worn by Hollywood stars such as Greta Garbo. It resembles beaver, with stiff guard hairs and a soft, short undercoat.
  It was originally imported to the southern United States – possibly as early as the 19th century, although in larger numbers from the 1950s – to reduce the population of muskrat. Some escaped and found the swamps of Louisiana ideal territory, leading to their common name of swamp rat. With the decline in the fur market in the 1980s, the population mushroomed and threatened the stability of the wetland ecosystem by eating away the plants that hold the swamp together.
caption: Nutria fur in its natural state
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