We found a tree with big scary scratches on it, just 100 feet from our front door - what could have made them? A bear marking its territory? A cougar sharpening its claws? A visit from our friend Mark Jordahl (who is an expert tracker and naturalist) revealed the answer - the gouges were made by a deer (a buck) scraping its antlers.
How do we know? The scrapes were made with an upward motion, which is typical of antlers. Bear and cougar claw marks would typically be downward unless they were climbing the tree. A few minutes after Mark paid us a house visit, another friend - Stan Rullman (who is also an expert tracker and naturalist) - came to the same unprompted conclusion. See detail of scratches below.
