STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep, with news of a population explosion - the population of squirrels. Parts of this country report a squirrel boom. The increase was driven by a mild winter and a bumper crop of nuts. And apparently, they broadened their diet beyond nuts. Vermont apple growers report squirrels can strip a tree of half its apples in hours. And this adds urgency to the work of South Carolina researchers experimenting with feeding squirrels birth control pills. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.