16 May 2011

Nature sleuth question

At the City of Rocks we found this Mountain Mahogany that had been damaged. The bark and cambium are missing on half of the lower part of the tree. There are a bunch of holes above the bare area.
Close-up of the bare area. Note the brown cambium has been scraped(?) off in the bare area. This is perplexing me. So here's my question for the nature sleuths out there: what in south-central Idaho could have done this to the tree?

2 comments:

Ryan O'Donnell said...

I think it would probably be a porcupine. They eat a lot of bark, especially in the winter.

Ryan O'Donnell said...

. . . . I don't think the holes would be from the porcupine--maybe a sapsucker or other woodpecker? Tough life for a tree there!