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Article: Is That a Marmot Under My Hood?(marmots seek out mineral deposits on engine parts)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- National Wildlife
- Article date:
- February 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 National Wildlife Federation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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AN ODD SORT OF JUNKIE is wreaking havoc in the Mineral King area of Sequoia National Park in California. Hanging out underneath cars in the parking lot from May to August, the addicts often camp in groups of four or five. Their poison: toxic antifreeze. The hooked: yellow-bellied marmots. Fearlessly climbing into the engine blocks of vehicles, the rotund rodents chew through brake lines and radiator hoses in search of a fix of ethylene glycol-- an alcohol in the antifreeze. "Some 200 marmots do this every year, damaging 20 to 40 cars," says U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Harold Werner. "It's almost like the marmots are waiting for the cars to show up when Mineral ...