Nutria

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/nutria

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Myocastor coypus
2. What is the native habitat?Subtropical and temperate freshwater marshes, rivers, and lakes of South America
3. What does a nutria look like and how does it move in water?Nutrias have a big, furry body, webbed feet, a round tail, and bright orange incisors. Their webbed hind feet and the ability to close their ears and nostrils help them swim and stay underwater.
4. Why do nutrias eat so many plants?They are herbivores that munch on roots, stems, leaves, and seeds of aquatic plants. Their strong, continuously growing teeth make it easy to chew tough vegetation.

Semi-aquatic: An organism that lives both on land and in water, exhibiting adaptations for both environments.
Obligate Herbivore: An animal that relies solely on plants for its nutritional requirements.
Invasive Species: A non-native species whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm.
Precocial: Referring to young animals that are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching.