I submit to you a tale of improbable love. It is true as I was the kindly zookeeper.


here is a true story of Nutria love. It begins with a single nutria alone all by herself, living in a small pool behind the sealions at the zoo. Her only friend was her keeper who would sometimes get in the pool with her and she would swim over and discuss the alabama football team chances for that year sitting upon the zookeepers chest. Her name was Felicia. Felicia stood about 18 inches tall and was covered with coarse hair and had lovely webbed feet with 3 inch long bright orange teeth. She was a unique individual, much too unique as she thought she was the only nutria in the world.
She would speak like "Hmmmzrj giitrh zzzztrkrea hhrrkmt" (which meant "I am so mad that they pulled Walter Lewis from quarterbacking and played that Jay Barker kid instead" ). the kindly zookeeper would nod his head and agree with this pearl of rodent gridiron wisdom.

One beautiful fall day the pool on the other side of the wall which had set empty void of water was capped and filled with a rush of water. Later there came a noise "hmmaxytr hhansax pau" and a scent which filled Felicias heart with joy. A boy nutria really existed!

They could not see one another as the wall was too high and made from concrete. Time passed and they talked constantly both giant swamp rats were Alabama football fans and the Tide evuentally won the national champsionship.

Finally one winter day a door that they had been talking thru opened and they were together. Felix as he was now known was almost identical to Felicia. Same size, same coarse fur, same webbed feet, same bright orange incicsors. They were already madly in love. the zookeepers shared their joy.

Suddenly a storm struck, sheets of rain, lightning hit a nearby tree, then it was over.

Felix lay dead.

He had fallen and broke a rib that peirced his heart. Felicia was alone again.
They had been together only minutes....
Yet 9 weeks later, 9 baby nutria were born, eyes open, furry, and ready to swim.
yet there was a sad ending to this.............
a week later the babies were sacrificed as snake food which the snakes refused to eat...
the moral of this story? shit happens in life find joy when and where you can.