TRAPPING AND PREPARING PELTS 



Nutrias are trapped similarly to nruskrats and the same types of 

 steel traps are used* A trap set for a nutria must, however, be staked 

 out more securely than one for a muskrat because the nutria, being much 

 stronger, will pull the stake and drag off the trap. Larger traps 

 designed for other fur animals, such as numbers 1-1/2, 2, or 3> are 

 not suitable for catching and holding nutria because the jaws and 

 spread are too large, the spring tension is too strong, and the weight 

 required to spring these traps is too greato 



The pelt of the nutria is taken "cased" and dried fur side in, 

 similarly to the otter and muskrat • A slit is made along the hind legs 

 to the anus just as in the muskrat, and the skin is pulled off in the 

 same manner. The pelt is then drawn on a stretching board or frame, 

 the average size of which is 35 inches long. It is tapered from the 

 bottom, which is 5 to 6 inches wide, to h inches wide at a distance 

 ii-l/2 inches from the top. The balance of the board should be tapered 

 to a rounded tip* The skin is then drawn gently over the board, fur 

 side in, and stretched lengthwise by tacking skin to a movable block on 

 the stretcher. Prom then on it is handled the same as the pelt of an 

 otter or muskrat. 



The pelt must be handled properly to meet the approval of the 

 fur trade. Two nutria pelts may be exactly alike in quality and size, 

 yet the one handled the right way may bring the trapper two or three 

 times as much as one handled the wrong way 



The fur trade knows the pelt of the coypu as "nutria" and the fur 

 is judged by the condition, quality, and color of the underfur the same 

 as beaver, otter, and muskrat. The color and density of the guard hairs 

 mean little to the fur tradesman for they are removed when the skins are 

 dressed. Nutria pelts are the only skins which are slit open along the 

 back during the processing. The reason is that the fur on the belly and 

 sides is denser and of better quality than on the back. 



The underfur should be dark with a bluish- gray cast. The best pelts 

 are called "blue" by the trade as some natural muskrats are called "black," 

 but these designations should not be taken literally. Reddish or rusty 

 underfur is undesirable. Density of the underfur is extremely important, 

 and silkiness and lustre are most important. 



The prevailing prices now being paid for South ♦American nutria pelts 

 taken in the wild are from $5.00 to $6.00 each for top-quality skins 30 

 to 35 inches and longer. During the season 1955-56, the best nutria furs 

 trapped in Louisiana brought 12.50 a pelt, but the average was $1 00. 

 The assortment of nutrias trapped in Louisiana varies greatly in size, 

 shape, and general appearance. Trappers have not yet learned the proper 

 method of pelting, stretching, and preparing nutria skins for the raw 

 fur market. There are too many small skins measuring 22 inches and less 



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