Paul Ryan says his car was eaten by woodchucks — we investigate
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Woodchucks: 1, Paul Ryan’s SUV: 0
So The Verge is asking the tough questions: did woodchucks specifically target Paul Ryan? Or do woodchucks typically chuck cars?
Paul Ryan’s in the clear: big ground squirrels known as marmots — and yes, a woodchuck is a species of marmot — do chuck cars. And trucks. And bicycles, according to Daniel Blumstein , a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who studies marmots.
And it’s not just Paul Ryan’s car. Most of the time, marmots are vegetarians that eat grasses and fruits. But for some, car parts are a delicacy. “Apparently they’re attracted to radiator fluid,” Blumstein says — and not just in Wisconsin. The species of marmot that Blumstein studies around the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab in Colorado can make car maintenance hairy. “We’ve got marmots climbing in cars and being driven around and sometimes getting killed and eating cars and destroying wiring,” Blumstein says. “But usually they’re going for the radiator fluid, somehow. And it can’t be good for them.”
So how do you keep them away? “What we do is if cars are being savaged by marmots, people put chicken wire under them,” Blumstein says. The website for Mineral King, California — part of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks — has other advice . (“You are entering marmot country,” the website warns .) Park officials actually recommend against the chicken-wire strategy these days, “as marmots have learned to get around the wire.” Now, the park advises washing your car — including the undercarriage and engine compartment — before completely wrapping it in a tarp to keep the marmots out.
Christine Maher , a professor of biology and associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Southern Maine, is more of a woodchuck skeptic, however. She hasn’t heard of the marmot species on her end of the country trying to get into cars — especially in the winter. Woodchucks are burrowers, Maher explains. To keep warm during the cold winter months, woodchucks burrow beneath the frost line. So woodchucks hibernating in a car “would just be burning through more fat trying to keep their bodies from freezing,” she says.
She wants to see the evidence because mice or chipmunks could also have gnawed through the wiring. “It would have been nice to see how they decided it was woodchucks that had done it,” she says.
Whether it’s ultimately a woodchuck, mouse, or chipmunk to blame, one thing’s for certain: Ryan is going to need a new vehicle.
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I once had a 2CV Citroën eaten by mice...
Squirrels got my 2003 Ford Escape twice between 2007 & 2015.
The furry buggers did more than $2K worth of damage each time. Chewed up every wire, every piece of tubing and every piece of plastic under the hood.
Guess that's what I get for leaving it unused and just sitting uncovered here in the woods for months at a time. ( smile )
Very nourishing...
Lol totally believable story, during my time in Germany Marders (martens) are a problem. They once chewed up some wiring in my car which resulted in the engine catching fire
They are cute little buggers though
I live in southern WI and I've never heard of woodchucks going after car innards so I doubt that aspect of Ryan's story. But the mice, chipmunks and squirrels are something else altogether.
Neither had I, although truthfully I wasn't even familiar with the term woodchuck (we call them groundhogs here). Anyway I did a quick search and there are a couple similar stories there, so I'm going with it's plausible.
They're called groundhogs here in WI too.
If Ryan would have had a ''foreign car'' it wouldn't have happened. Those Chuckers were obviously foreign democrats. They probably came over the Minnesota border.
... maybe even... ... Canadians!
A wall, we need a wall to keep them out...
Gasp! The horror.
Groundhogs eating cars
I do believe I've heard everything now!
Sounds like a Farmers Insurance commercial, lol.
It does!
I'm not a meteorologist.
If you believe that one I'll bet that you'll believe that marmots carry the plague! Those cute little critters would never do that.
You mean they don't!!!!!!
Last time I was alpine caving in Wyoming I brought a wrist rocket to discourage them away from our camp, both because they'll trash it and because of plague warnings. Turns out I'm a really good shot.
I'd be careful around Rocky if I were you...Rocky is a 2nd amendment Groundhog....
It was mice or chipmunks that destroyed the wiring. Woodchucks are fat lazy rodents that only want to eat soybeans and sleep.
They like cabbage, too
That is a new diet for a whistle pig.
Please quit saying degrading things about ground hogs...I have a pet ground hog named Rocky...Geezz
And Rocky loves grapes, especially green grapes.
Photos, please!
Next time he's out and about I'll get a photo of him.
I'll also get one of Amos, our armadillo.
They sure don't seem to have good eyesight. Is that true?
I have a semi-friendly trash panda that eats the cat food that I set out for the strays.
I like whistle pigs.
I don't think so. Rocky see's just fine.
Another thing that I've heard/seen people say is that they are slow, fat, lazy and defenseless. The first three are true, but they are far from defenseless. Rocky taught a fox a hard lesson when it attacked Rocky..Rocky took some bites but once he locked on the the fox's neck the fight was over...That fox did everything it could to shake Rocky off, which it finally did, but they took off and we haven't seen him back...
LOL, OK your forgiven. Rocky accepts your apology but wants to know if you have any grapes...
This is a photo of Amos. He's munching grubs at the moment.
No grapes but I have plenty of tasty crabgrass and the trimmings from making a garden salad for dinner.
A cornered whistle pig is dangerous because of their very sharp claws. I saw a dog get ripped apart when he tried to corner a groundhog in a barn.
Rocky is a bit disappointed with that offering. Do you happen to have some ''Blue cheese dressing'' to go with that salad?
They also have a wicked set of teeth and can cause a hell of a lot of damage.
I made a vinegarette. I love blue cheese, but I'm trying to be healthy.
My neighbor has grape vines, a raspberry patch and 2-3 plants of rhubarb is Rocky is interested.
Are you kidding, does a bear poop in the woods. Is a clam happy at high tide. Rocky is doing handstands after reading your comment....Raspberry patch...OMG.
BTW, this is Rocky latest and newest business venture.
Ok.....so one of you "pets" is a known carrier of leprosy and the other is very closely related to the primary reservoir of bubonic plague. It sounds like you're begging the great sky fairy to visit at least one of the scourges of the ancient world upon you!
The black raspberries are ripe now. The red ones will be ripe is a few weeks. They brought me 2 quarts that I used to make scones.
I love both colors of raspberries...
This is Tex, our resident bull...As for the other critters not a worry. Being one with nature and all it's critters I have no problem. Besides mosquito don't bite me either.
That's too funny.
I've got a runaway bull story that was chasing my younger sister one time. Thank goodness she was athletic and grew up in a family of tree climbers. Up a tree she went.
It wasn't a long horn. Just had a grouchy attitude.
I'll save the details for a more appropriate time.
Now is appropriate.
That's a nice looking animal. There's a vaguely similar variety (Scottish highland or something) that's supposed to be useful for clearing the woods around here of prickly ash.
Okay, be forewarned, the story is a little drawn out and involved firearms.
Note: No bulls were injured or harmed in this story. Thankfully, neither was my sister.
Let's see, we were visiting my grandparents in Pennsylvania farm country in the area where a couple battles of the Brandywine occurred. They had an old stone farm home built in the early 1600s (I have a copy of the deed still). Not a full time farm, but a smaller place where my grandfather could grow things, which he enjoyed. Across the road was a large farm which also raised cattle.
They happened to have a bull with a bad disposition and, of course a containment fence that was kind of useless.
I was 12, 13, 14, somewhere around there. So it was at least a couple years ago.
Also, my grandparents had this dog hated me (has a role in the story). Yes, it really hated me. But by then Woofer was well along in years and had learned to accept me, well, maybe tolerated. Learned later he had been my Mothers dog when he was a pup and she lived at home. He loved my Mom.
BTW, Woofer was one of those big full sized grey/blue haired Chows. My grandparents place belonged to him.
I was up by the garage doing something. My younger sister, 2 younger brothers and 2 cousins were down in the front swinging on tree ropes, running through sprinklers, playing ball, etc.
The bull happened to be right across the road at this time. I forgot it's name, but I recall the name matched it's personality.
All of a sudden I am hearing a bunch of screaming and hollering. So I walked down and see the bull chasing right after my sister. She was running to a tree and I took off.
NO, not toward the bull. I had a 7.65mm model 1891 Argentine Mauser with some loaded stripper clips. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my sister reach and climb the tree.
About then I got to the house, yelled to my Father the bull was after Shari. Grabbed my rifle and some ammo, ran back out the door with Dad following and shouting DON'T SHOOT THE BULL UNLESS I TELL YOU.
Not all the kids got to trees,, so they were precariously hiding as possible.
Of course Woofer got pissed that this bull was in his yard and took point.
The bull noticed one of the kids and began to move. My Dad again said Don't Shoot THE BULL. RUN 2 ROINDS RIGHT IN FRONT OF IT. I IT CONTINUES THEN SHOOT IT.
We both ran 2 rounds right in front of it and it stopped.
I was thinking "okay, how long is this going to last"?
About then the farmer from across the road shows up on horse back with a couple fellas and get the bull back where it belonged and made another meaningless repair to the fence.
That is when Woofer walked straight too me. Growled at me and went back in the house.
Never had love for that bull.
Sad when Woofer went on.
LOL, well the good thing was no one was hurt including the bull.
I'll bet there were some kids that just might have pooped their pants.
I've seen some eat prickly pear in NM and Arizona...Don't know how in the heck they do it.
It turns out it is indeed the Scottish Highland variety. Very useful where I live for anyone who wants to maintain their woods. Apparently they also love wild parsnip.
I'll bet they'd eat a car too.
The calves are super cute.
There might have been good betting odds on that.
Ha, they are darn cute...
I sure hope the experiment with them works out..Great idea.
I'm sure they were.
Good story, good ending!
My dad bought a .22 air pistol because of one ornery groundhog. Rocky's cousin liked to get in my dad's cabbage patch and munch until he couldn't move. Mom laughed at Dad because she said he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. I don't think Dad ever got that ground hog.
51 years in the auto industry - I could write a book about critter damage.
We had a car that was a "loss leader'. A stick shift Ice Blue Aires Station Wagon ridiculously cheap but zero features.
Eventually some Mennonites bought it, intending to paint it black and use it on the farm, etc.
About a week later they drove it back in with the front end totaled and every rear window broken out.
The "kids" took the car for a joy ride and hit a deer.
In order to prove to their parents it wasn't totally their fault, they decided to put the deer in the back of the S/W.
Only it wasn't dead yet......
The Police had to shoot the deer in the car, but not before it kicked the living daylights out of the interior.
Multiple tickets and fines later, the insurance company declined their claim and cancelled them.
true.
that was my (subdued) reaction when the family asked if we could do anything at all for them "under warranty".