[QUOTE=Winger
They were brought from I think France, to Louisiana where they raised them for their pelts.
Some big storm crushed the ranches in the 1950s. Now, (as an invasive species) .[/QUOTE]
They are native to S. America. The story I heard was that they (2 breeding pair)were brought to Louisiana around the turn of the 19th/20th century to be raised for their fur. A hurricane destroyed the cages and they escaped. In the ensuing decades they multiplied by the millions into any southern state with marshes/swamps. Alligators were hunted into near extinction until the late 1970's. Their resurgence has greatly reduced the # of nutria.