Mystery Excavations

[Pterodaktyl]

Whilst out in some local woods over the weekend I discovered this tree:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syY4uXxccf0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Does anyone have any ideas about who the culprits might be? I couldn't find any prints or other signs in the immediate area but there are definately rabbits, badgers and roe deer within the woodland. Apologies for the slightly wobbly headcam footage!

 

[Shewie]

Any wild boar in your area?

 

[Pterodaktyl]

Any wild boar in your area?

Not officially, although I've heard the odd rumour. I would imagine boar would have churned up the surrounding area more though? Aside from some scuffed up moss there was very little disturbance apart from the digging around the roots.

 

[santaman2000]

I'm thinking hogs rooting around as well.

 

[Harvestman]

If it isn't pig, then the only other possible culprit is badger.

 

[Toddy]

If there are voles nesting in amongst and under the roots, or bees, then foxes will sometimes grub out like that to get to them.

Should have been tracks showing though

Thing is that once it starts scraping and grubbing, then it comes across worms, and they eat a surprising number of worms and grubs, so they just keep scrapping and digging.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Coldfeet]

My first thought was pig of some kind, going for the roots

 

[Macaroon]

That sure looks like pig damage to me, a solitary male explains why there's not more damage in evidence; and it looks as if he's scented something specific and went for it. I may be wrong, but we've got an awful lot of them around our way and that's very like what the solitary males leave in their wake. Usually the smell gives them away (certainly to my Springer bitch!), but the odour doesn't linger in the wet conditions we're having at the moment...............

 

[titanius anglesmith]

Hi all,
with all the wet weather that we have been having lately, could it have been scoured out by water? Looks like some water channels in there.
Regards Chris.

 

[Pterodaktyl]

Thanks for all the ideas!

Toddy - I'm pretty sure the digger(s) were after the roots themselves, it doesn't show up well in the video but most of the bark has been stripped off the larger ones, and smaller ones have been pulled out of the ground some distance from the tree.

Chris - the tree is pretty much on a ridgeline so it seems unlikely there would be enough of a flow of water to have that kind of effect.

I think I need to get a trail cam up there!

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[petrochemicals]

caught sight of your hand, quite small scale really. is the tree dead ? Hedgehogs are quite good miners for insects.

 

[Countryman]

Although not typical of the widespread turf turning that Badgers undertake for larvae I suspect this is the more likely answer.




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[munkiboi182]

That looks a lot like what the muntjac have done round here. Several of them will use the same tree as an itching post and spend hours just circling it. I've also heard of larger species doing it to knock off damaged antlers. Check the bark for hairs

 

[santaman2000]

That looks a lot like what the muntjac have done round here. Several of them will use the same tree as an itching post and spend hours just circling it. I've also heard of larger species doing it to knock off damaged antlers. Check the bark for hairs

Not exactly, the larger species aren't knocking off damaged antlers. Rather they're rubbing the velvet off their new antlers. all deer species here do that, but the damage to the tree isn't at the roots, it's on the trunk from the deer's knee level to his head level.

http://www.smedesphoto.com/Image Files_Gallery/11pt_Buck_Rub_399x576.jpg

http://www.wildoutdoorphotos.com/image.php?src=937

 

[Pterodaktyl]

caught sight of your hand, quite small scale really. is the tree dead ? Hedgehogs are quite good miners for insects.

I'd say the disturbed area around the base of the trunk was about 1.5m - 2m in diameter, and in certain places roots have been followed out beyond this distance. Quite a lot of work for hedgehogs! The tree is still alive as far as I can tell - it's an ash surrounded by hundreds of other almost identical ones so I have no idea what the appeal of that particular tree is.

 

[Pterodaktyl]

That looks a lot like what the muntjac have done round here. Several of them will use the same tree as an itching post and spend hours just circling it. I've also heard of larger species doing it to knock off damaged antlers. Check the bark for hairs

There are definitely deer in the wood (pretty sure they're roe from the glimpses I've had) so I'll have a close look at the bark next time I'm up there, but I'm pretty sure the earth has been torn up rather than just worn away by an animal circling the tree. I've seen deer scratching posts in Haldon Forest and the earth tends to be worn smooth around them rather than turned over.

 

[Countryman]

It's not a thrashing post for deer guys.

That would be characterised by rubbing off of bark further up the tree. Not excavation of the roots.


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[Joonsy]

I'm pretty sure the digger(s) were after the roots themselves, it doesn't show up well in the video but most of the bark has been stripped off the larger ones, and smaller ones have been pulled out of the ground some distance from the tree.

just another observation. rabbits will eat the bark off trees, though usually in hard weather during hard frost and snow, they do a surprising amount of damage and sometimes kill the tree by completely ringing it with removed bark.