The coypu (or nutria, "Myocastor coypus") is a large, plant-eating, rodent which lives in wetlands. The nutria first came from South America including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Animals were taken to Louisiana in the 1930s to be farmed for their fur. Some of these animals escaped and are now living in the Louisiana coastal wetlands. They have become a pest and have damaged the environment.