L is for Louisiana
Isn't it cool that Louisiana looks like an L?!
We crossed through Louisiana twice, once on our way east, on I-10, and then on our return on I-20. When we entered Louisiana on our first trip through, I picked up a flyer for the Louisiana Fur and Wildlife Festival. One of the competitions is Nutria skinning... on the main stage! I don't know about you, but I have never been to a nutria skinning competition, and frankly, I'm not sure that is something I'd have much interest in watching. But, I have since become fascinated by Nutria, also called Coypu. I think they are kinda cute. They look like huge Guinea pig X beavers. They are a large, semi-aquatic rodents that are somewhat smaller than a beaver.
Nutria originated in South America and were brought to Louisiana for the fur trade in the 1930's. At that time there was a large market for fur as fur coats were the rage. The nutria escaped, or were released, into the Louisiana marshes. In the 40's they were valued as a natural control of water hyacinth and other aquatic weeds, and they were transplanted to coastal regions throughout southeast Louisiana. Populations soared, and it became apparent that the nutria were destroying marsh wetlands, rice fields and sugar cane crops. The state promoted nutria fur as a natural resource and the population declined up until the 80's, when animal rights activists came out against wearing fur. Through the 90's populations increased and more wetlands damage was incurred. The state continues to monitor and work towards balancing the Nutria population. The festival is part of that effort. It is conducted early in January every year and is advertised as one of the "oldest and coldest" festivals in Louisiana. Nutria skinning is only one of the activities at the festival. If you attended you could also enjoy a duck and goose calling competition, trap shooting, a gumbo cook-off and crowning of the fur queen.
Maybe next year we should plan on attending! Have you had the opportunity to attend a festival that is a bit different than most?
A modern nutria coat
I would have skipped that competition for sure. But I remember the nutria coats women wore when I was a kid back in Sweden. A very soft fur. I hope you ate a lot of good food while you were there. My hubby is from New Orleans and he cooks for us.
ReplyDeleteI remembering living in Louisiana as a child for a while. I remember red mud, thick water, mosquitoes and armadillos.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should visit again to change my opinion.
Very interesting post, Dreaming. They're dealing with a similar problem in Newfoundland right now. Too many moose destroying the environment ~ another example of exotic animals introduced into a new environment with unforseen consequences. I would definitely skipped the nutria skinning competition! I once flew over Louisiana's Birdfoot Delta which was very, very cool to see! Have a good one!
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