Is it a bear?

My first thought was also Wolverine, but since you say they don't inhabit the area, next best guess is a badger. A badger is a little like a wolverine physically (but a lot smaller and flatter) and as others have mentioned, it seems they live everywhere. Badgers are diggers... really good diggers, so it wouldn't be a big job for a badger to make that kind of mess. They are also notoriously grumpy creatures.

gallery_hissing_badger.jpg
 
This was made by Black woodpecker (Drycopus martius) on a lime tree.
Country: Slovenia

sl016Pivolalipovdrevored.jpg


Samek
 
Cool thread... I've seen many woodpecker-abused trees, but not to that extent. Apparently we only have the small ones around here...

REALcommander, as a Wisconsin boy I appreciate that pic. Rawr!!
 
Last edited:
My GUESS goes to the pileated wood pecker. I ve seen them trash a standing tree so I guess if the food [grubs,insects] was there they would tear up a downed log also. Somebody also mentioned the absence of foot prints or a packed down area in front of the log which would also make me lean toward the pecker. Ive seen three at once attack a dead standing ash and you could hear them a hundred yards away. The noise is what got my attention. --KV
 
Woodpecker makes sense. If grubs were just under the bark, it wouldnt make a huge cavity.
 
The were "no bears" in Ohio - until there undeniably were -- pictures - hit by truck. Some report seeing black bear in Indiana. Brer Bear does not respect official pronouncements. Young males wander whereever looking for territory.

Pileated Woodpeckers do not typically migrate, so their population is distributed. (The only migratory species I have seen here thus far this year is the Turkey Vulture -- and one crazy Purple Martin.)

Pileated Woodpeckers normally do not build nests at ground level. Never saw or heard of such. Woody ain't a Rhodes Scholar, but he's not that dumb.

If the wood was really rotten, a critter less powerful than a bear could have done the deed. Racoon? Skunk? Badger? Possum? Any of them like grub sushi.

Woodpecker chips tend to be in piles, not scattered. And, again, they tend to dig holes. But anything is possible. Woody probly' doesn't read the Operator's Manual any more than Mr. Bear.

Any skat around the worksite?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top