Stolen shoes, sabotaged cars and licked faces: How marmots are causing havoc for hikers in America’s West

Cute but cunning, yellow-bellied marmots are wreaking havoc on hikers and campers in California’s Sequoia National Park, stealing shoes and backpacks, chewing through gear and even disabling vehicles.

The ground squirrels, which can grow as large as small dogs, are a notorious nuisance in Mineral King Valley. The National Park Service even warns visitors entering the remote, 7,800-foot-high area: “You are entering Marmot Country.”