In The New York Times in 1917, a year in which it was forecast that “the civilized world of women will wear more fur than ever before,” a reporter asked a pelt importer what his furs were made of. “Rats and snails and puppy dogs’ tails,” he joked. “It is called by dignified and pleasing names, but as for its ingredients—I think the nursery couplet explains them.” The favored pelt of the moment, the reporter wrote, was “nutria.”Nutria are often mistaken for beavers—both have prehistoric-looking orange teeth—but nutria are typically one-third the size of beavers and one-third as adorable. Beavers have chubby cheeks and paddle tails, and there is a startled quality to the way they hold their little hands in front of them, like…
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