Spread of the coypu Myocastor coypus (Molina, 1782) along the Drava River in Hungary

The coypu is a South American rodent that was introduced to Europe more than a century ago and it has since then spread over a large area. It appeared in the north-western and northern part of Hungary only in recent years. The first coypu observation in the South Transdanubian region was in July 2023 near Bélavár on a side arm of the Drava River in the Danube-Drava National Park. During the autumn a coypu was spotted in the vicinity of Barcs, and the number of observations along the Drava River continued to increase during the winter. In two locations, adults with younglings were observed, which indicates that the coypu reproduce in that area. The coypu most likely arrived in the areas along the Drava in Somogy county with the large flood waves of 2023 coming from the north-west of the Drava watershed, and it can be expected to spread further along the watercourses and canals on both the Hungarian and Croatian sides.