On a snowshoe walk yesterday, I saw a gouge in this white birch tree.White birch are also known as paper birch because of the way the bark peels off layer by layer. Native Americans hollowed out birch trees to make canoes, so the trees are also known as canoe birch.
Birches grow throughout Maine and moose, deer and snowshoe hares eat the twigs, but this one looks like it was assaulted by something more serious than a twig-eater. I didn't see any scratch marks on the bark, so I don't think it was a bear. Any ideas?
2 comments:
Beth,
Were there any animal tracks around the tree? If not my guess is a small meteor! :)
Louis
no tracks but the snow was fresh and the gouge wasn't. I like the meteor theory. :)
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