Porcupine plague causes $100K in damage in Colo.

[January 05, 2009]  TELLURIDE, Colo. (AP) -- Porcupines are becoming a prickly pest for Telluride-area residents.

Residents said the rodents are chomping on the bark of spruce trees, yard trees and have killed 50-foot-high native trees. The damage is estimated at more than $100,000 in Mountain Village above Telluride.

Porcupines also favor salty and sweaty items, so plywood treated with a sodium-based substance has become attractive to them. They've also munched on shoes, vehicle tires and tool handles.

Mountain Village resident Vicki Irwin said she's never seen the porcupines be so aggressive.

Some possible reasons cited for the porcupine's behavior are a harsh winter last year that ramped up their appetites and the fact that the rodents can roam freely because many of the town's 4,100 resident's live elsewhere most of the year.

[Associated Press]

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