Skačany near Partizánske has become a tourist destination. People come to a small pond from a wide area just to see coypu. The creatures themselves might not even be so interesting if they weren't surprisingly social. However, visitors usually do not come empty-handed, and since coypu do not despise refreshments, they have become a perfect attraction for families with children.

"I've never seen Nutria, so my parents and I came here on a Sunday walk. We brought carrots so they could enjoy them. But they are probably quite eaten, I have a feeling that we will probably feed the fish more, "says teenager Natália Škultétyová. Wildlife photographer Michal Lutonský also visited Skačiany, who enjoys every animal and welcomes nutria in our nature.

"I know it's not our original animals that brought them here, but once it's here ... they won't hurt our nature that much." But the photographer's enthusiasm is not shared by experts. Jaroslav Slašťan from the Bojnice National Zoo explains why nutria are literally dangerous for our nature as "import creatures".

"The river nutria does not have a natural enemy in our country. It is a larger rodent, which reaches up to twelve kilograms. It comes from South America and is raised for fur or very tasty meat. ”The problem arose when coypu escaped from breeding in the wild. As long as there are a few of them, according to Slašťan, nothing is happening. "But when they multiply, they form colonies, and that's not right anymore. They take away the food of our native species. In the natural habitat in South America, they are hunted by a jaguar, alligator or anaconda, or some species of eagles. ”Just for comparison, there were three coypu in the pond about three years ago, today you can count more than twenty of them.