Oregon mammals

Coypu in Oregon

Myocastor coypus

Introduced to Oregon

Oregon's Myocastor coypus records are of an introduced species; it does not occur here as a wild native population.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

CoypusRagondin (Myocastor coypus) (34)Nutria (Myocastor coypus) in a partially frozen river LjubljanicaCoypu (Myocastor coypus)Coypu walking along a sandy shoreline
Photo: Basile Morin · CC BY-SA 4.0CoypusPhoto: Gzen92 · CC BY-SA 4.0Ragondin (Myocastor coypus) (34)Photo: Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 4.0Nutria (Myocastor coypus) in a partially frozen river LjubljanicaPhoto: Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 3.0Coypu (Myocastor coypus)Photo: euqirneto · CC BYCoypu walking along a sandy shoreline

Coypu in Oregon, by the numbers

Common in Oregon 4th most recorded of 178 mammals logged in Oregon

3,628 occurrence records
3,592 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 11, 2026 Last seen in Oregon

Records from 2000–2026.

3,628 total records count every Oregon occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 3,600 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Coypu in Oregon

Most sightings fall in December to June.

3,600 Oregon occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Oregon records (table)
MonthRecords
January332
February429
March418
April399
May339
June266
July222
August236
September264
October255
November181
December259

Monthly coypu occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Oregon, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Oregon, with recorded sightings peaking in December–June, with a smaller rise in September.

Occurrence map

Where Coypu has been recorded in Oregon

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Oregon records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Fern Ridge Wildlife Area 6
Sauvie Island Wildlife Area 5
Siuslaw National Forest 5
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park 5
Beardsley Bar Landing Willamette River Greenway 1
Darrow Rock's Landing Willamette River Greenway 1
Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Area 1
Lynx Hollow Access Willamette River Greenway 1

Protected places with the most coypu sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Oregon

CountyRecords
Washington County 1,325
Multnomah County 548
Lane County 521
Marion County 326
Benton County 292
Douglas County 171
Clackamas County 120
Clatsop County 103
Linn County 57
Lincoln County 34
Columbia County 32
Yamhill County 29
6 other counties 70

The complete county distribution, spread across 18 Oregon counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Oregon’s coypu record is substantial in both contributing sources: 3,579 iNaturalist records and 2,967 GBIF records, with an observation as recent as July 11, 2026. Reports occur in every month and are highest in February and March; the overlay highlights Willamette Valley refuges, nearby state parks, and river greenways. USGS NAS identifies the species as invasive and established in Oregon, but the encounter totals still describe reporting effort and distribution, not population abundance.

Coypus
Full species profile Coypu Myocastor coypus Size 40–60 cm15.7–23.6 in Weight 4–10 kg8.8–22 lb Lifespan Up to 19 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Oregon in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"