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Who did this?

 
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My husband and I were taking a walk on our property and discovered these marks. We would love to know what animal made them and why. Any ideas?

signal-2024-01-07-174413_031.jpeg
deep scores in bark of trees
signal-2024-01-07-174413_032.jpeg
moose rub damage to trees
signal-2024-01-07-175356_004.jpeg
[Thumbnail for signal-2024-01-07-175356_004.jpeg]
signal-2024-01-07-175356_005.jpeg
[Thumbnail for signal-2024-01-07-175356_005.jpeg]
 
Steward of piddlers
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Location: Upstate NY, Zone 5, 43 inch Avg. Rainfall
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Looks like a rub of some kind to me.

Maybe deer but it looks high up in some pictures?
 
pollinator
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Moose rub. Too high up and wrong scratching pattern for deer. Too cold/wrong time of year for bear, and they wouldn't do several trees in a line like that either.
 
Jennifer Damashek
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James Bridger wrote:Moose rub. Too high up and wrong scratching pattern for deer. Too cold/wrong time of year for bear, and they wouldn't do several trees in a line like that either.



Thank you, James!
 
Jennifer Damashek
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James Bridger wrote:Moose rub. Too high up and wrong scratching pattern for deer. Too cold/wrong time of year for bear, and they wouldn't do several trees in a line like that either.



I found this article about moose rub and learned a lot!

https://www.northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/moose-rub
 
author
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My first thought was porcupines. I have seen how they have chewed the bark off trees like that; they can easily climb trees to any height.
 
Rocket Scientist
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Hi Jennifer,
Yes, this is most likely a sign made by a moose. I have seen it often on trees growing up in moose country. Winter doesn't provide much food so they go seeking nourishment from the inner cambium of various tree species. Scroll down to #3 in the link to view pictures and a description of what your seeing.

incisor scraping
 
Jennifer Damashek
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Gerry Parent wrote:Hi Jennifer,
Yes, this is most likely a sign made by a moose. I have seen it often on trees growing up in moose country. Winter doesn't provide much food so they go seeking nourishment from the inner cambium of various tree species. Scroll down to #3 in the link to view pictures and a description of what your seeing.

incisor scraping



Thank you Gerry! That is a great article, I learned so much. I've been wondering how all the wildlife around here survive the extreme cold of winter.
 
Jennifer Damashek
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Jennifer Damashek wrote:My husband and I were taking a walk on our property and discovered these marks. We would love to know what animal made them and why. Any ideas?



I was just reading about moose, and learned that the name comes from the Algonquin word "moosu" which means bark stripper!!!
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