Caught red pawed! Woodchuck takes cemetery flags

HUDSON, N.Y. (AP) — Who would steal flags from Civil War graves?

Authorities in Hudson, N.Y. believe they have found the culprit in a rash of cemetery flag thefts: woodchucks.

Mayor Bill Hallenbeck tells the Register-Star that police used cameras and confirmed that the flags were in the woodchucks' burrows.

Around 75 flags were reported missing from Civil War graves in the days leading up to and following Independence Day.

Hallenbeck said he was glad the culprit wasn't a human resident. He said some flags were coated with a substance that attracts woodchucks.

Woodchucks are also known as groundhogs. They are excellent burrowers.

Hudson is a city of about 7,000 on the shore of the Hudson River 30 miles south of Albany.

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Information from: Register-Star.