Porcupine Plague Causes $100,000 Worth of Damage in Colorado
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Porcupines are becoming a prickly pest for Telluride-area residents.
Residents say 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 the 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.
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Mountain Village resident Vicki Irwin says 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 rodents can roam freely because many of the town's 4,100 resident's live elsewhere most of the year.