STOCKTON (CBS13) — The rodent that has launched a multi-agency task force is now threatening San Joaquin County. 
 
 The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has already spotted about 20 nutrias in Fresno, Merced and Stanislaus counties. 
 
 Several months ago, officials with San Joaquin County had a report of a possible sighting of nutria. They didn’t find anything, but with these latest sightings – it’s causing concern. 
 
 Officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. It’s a nutria, which they say is larger than a muskrat and smaller than a beaver, and an appetite for destruction. 
 
 “For us primarily, the issue would be the infrastructure because if we get flooding or if we can’t pump water off and can’t maintain those levees then, of course, it’s going to be difficult to farm in those areas,” said Tim Pelican, agriculture commissioner of San Joaquin County. 
 
 The rodent eats so much vegetation that it threatens wetlands and there could also be the loss of agriculture crops and levees. The animals have been sighted in three Central Valley counties and could make its way into the delta in San Joaquin County. 
 
 “Usually, somebody brings something like that into the area; it escaped, it doesn’t have any natural predators and then it begins to re-populate. These rodents have a lot of offspring’s every year,” he said. 
 
 Fish and wildlife officials are trying to eradicate the rodents and have set up a multi-agency task force to come up with a plan to deal with them. 
 
 “We’re all right now getting together trying to come up with a plan and just determine the extent of the problem and infestation, and we’re in the process of putting out traps and cameras to get a sense of where they are and how many there are,” said Peter Tira, California Department of Fish and Wildlife. 
 
 This is the first of its population, the state has seen since the 1970s. Officials are turning to the public for help in reporting any sightings before things get out of hand. 
 
 “They wreck agriculture crops, they are rodents; they carry diseases, they can pass disease onto livestock on people, and their pets,” he adds. 
 
 Traps have been set up in various parts of Fresno, Merced and Stanislaus counties. ||||| In this photo taken on Dec. 13, 2013, a family of young nutria nibble the grass along the shores of Capitol Lake in Olympia, Wash. Nutria, a destructive aquatic rodent native to South America, have invaded the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta. Tony Overman AP ||||| A giant invasive rodent with the ability to destroy roads, levees and wetlands has been discovered in Stanislaus County. 
 
 Weighing in at 20 pounds and measuring 2 feet, 6 inches long, plus a 12-inch tail, the nutria live in or near water. They're also incredibly destructive. 
 
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 “They burrow in dikes, and levees, and road beds, so they weaken infrastructure, (which is) problematic for flood control systems,” California Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Peter Tira said. 
 
 When nutria aren’t burrowing, they’re eating. They can consume 25 percent of their body weight each day in vegetation, but they waste and destroy 10 times that. 
 
 CA Department of Fish and Wildlife 
 
 Since 2017, more than 20 nutria have been spotted in Stanislaus, Merced and Fresno counties. However, that number could explode if they aren't dealt with quickly. Nutria can give birth to up to 200 offspring each year. 
 
 This 2.5 foot invasive rodent called a nutria has been spotted in Stanislaus County. If it's not exterminated it could have a detrimental impact on everything from roads, levees, farms and wetlands. pic.twitter.com/gtIQxnccha — Tom Miller (@TomMillerKXAN) February 9, 2018 
 
 “We have traps out. We’re setting traps. We have trail cameras," Tira said. "We’re really asking for the public's help to report sightings so we can get a handle on the extent of the problem." 
 
 
 
 CA Department of Fish and Wildlife 
 
 Nutria are native to South America, and they were introduced to California in 1899 for their mink-like fur. 
 
 Wildlife officials believed they were eradicated from the state in 1978 but now think a colony may have stayed under the radar and only recently reemerged. 
 
 CA Department of Fish and Wildlife 
 
 Nutria is often mistaken for a beaver or muskrat, but it's identified by its white whiskers, rounded tail and webbed feet with just one toe free. 
 
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– California is under attack from a giant, big-eating, fast-breeding, road-destroying rodent believed to have been eradicated from the state 40 years ago, KCRA reports. According to the Sacramento Bee, state biologists have found nearly two-dozen nutria in Stanislaus, Merced, and Fresno counties since March. The rodents were introduced to California in 1899 for their fur, but officials thought they got rid of the last of them in 1978. It's unclear where this new population of nutria came from—it's possible one colony escaped eradication only to emerge recently—but officials say their numbers will explode if something isn't done. A single female nutria can give birth to up to 200 offspring a year, and they have no natural predators. Nutria are 2.5-feet-long, weigh around 20 pounds, and can eat up to 25% of their body weight a day. "They burrow in dikes, and levees, and road beds, so they weaken infrastructure, (which is) problematic for flood control systems,” California Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Peter Tira tells KCRA. Wetlands and levees in the areas where the nutria have been found are needed for flood control and providing water to cities and farms in Southern California. "The issue would be the infrastructure because if we get flooding or if we can’t pump water off and can’t maintain those levees then, of course, it’s going to be difficult to farm in those areas,” Tim Pelican, agriculture commissioner of San Joaquin County, tells CBS Sacramento. Officials are setting traps for the rodents and asking residents to report sightings.