The rise and fall of the Coypu

摘要

Sixteen years ago, Britain's last coypu was captured. It was the end of a massive campaign, which proved that it is possible to eradicate a damaging, non-native species. One lazy summer afternoon in Suffolk, when I was seven years old, I went fishing.I was staring intently at the orange tip of my fishing float as it drifted down the shallow river, when it bobbed slightly as something disturbed the water's surface. What I saw next made me jump. The stories my friends had told me about giant rats were true! I watched in horror as a lumbering monster hauled itself onto the opposite bank and disappeared into the undergrowth. It was a coypu. I set a new record for the run home across the fields.