Coypu country
Sir: Simon Courtauld's reference to coypus in the Notebook (13 May) prompts me to enlighten him and his ageing friend on one or two points.
These rodents cannot live or breed without water and therefore when kept in concrete cages do not increase. The fur is of great value, being very hardwearing, and originally the best stetson hats were made from nutria skins. These animals suckle their young on their backs so the stomach fur is the best part of the pelt. They are very clean animals and excellent eating. It is believed that much tinned chicken is in fact coypu which causes me to wonder whether the inability to rid East Anglia of these rodents is perhaps because the natives have discovered how valuable are the skins and how excellent the meatl They are extremely easy to trap and fairly easy to tame, and in spite of their strange appearance, a mixture of beaver and giant rat, they are attractive to watch in the water especially when swimming with young on their backs enjoying a feed. Potatoes and parsley poison them, carrots and maize are their favoured food. They are only fierce if in great fear, which is usually caused by dogs. They breed about five times in two years, two to five in a litter. A full-grown male can weigh up to thirty pounds, quite an adversary for a dog.
Mlles Huntercombe Leverton Outgate, Boston, Lincs
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