# What's eating this?



## Huck_It_Baby (Nov 22, 2013)

Moose? Deer?


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## dlague (Nov 22, 2013)

Trail clearing during the summer?  Or is it Bigfoot!


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## Puck it (Nov 22, 2013)

Threecy!


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## Huck_It_Baby (Nov 22, 2013)

dlague said:


> Trail clearing during the summer?  Or is it Bigfoot!



It would be a cleaner cut if it was trail maintenance. The wood looks shredded like it was chewed on. This is on an unmaintained trail/rd in a fairly remote section of Mt. Mansfield.

More likely a Wampahoofus than A Samsquatch =)


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## Nick (Nov 22, 2013)

how big are those sticks in diameter? 

It doesn't look really appetizing.


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## Huck_It_Baby (Nov 22, 2013)

Nick said:


> how big are those sticks in diameter?
> 
> It doesn't look really appetizing.



Under 1/2 inch.

I could be wrong that something is eating this. Hunters probably clear this road but it doesn't seem like a cut a man made tool would make.


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## Nick (Nov 22, 2013)

Machete maybe?


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## Nick (Nov 22, 2013)

it almost looks like it was sawed off and then the tops were hacked to flay it


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## Huck_It_Baby (Nov 22, 2013)

Or a scythe.

Hoping it's an animal though. There were probably 20+ trucks up there last weekend all of which seemed to be hunters.


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## ScottySkis (Nov 22, 2013)

Someone with munchies I would guess lol.


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## Cheese (Nov 22, 2013)

A dreaded PistenBully out flattening down the freshies.


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## Nick (Nov 23, 2013)

^^noooooooo


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## Huck_It_Baby (Nov 26, 2013)

Still trying to figure this out. My hunch is a moose.

From the NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation:

http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/6964.html

"Moose are primarily browsers, feeding on the leaves, twigs, and buds of hardwood and softwood trees and shrubs. An adult moose eats 40 to 60 pounds of browse every day. Favored plant species include willows, birches, maples, balsam fir, viburnums, aspen, and mountain ash. In the winter, moose may strip and eat the bark from small trees, usually maples and aspen. In the summer, moose feed heavily on aquatic plants in ponds and wetlands, wading into the water and reaching beneath the surface for plants. They also depend on these wet areas to escape from biting insects and hot weather."


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## dukevoid (Feb 4, 2014)

Lala lala


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## Abubob (Feb 5, 2014)

Huck_It_Baby said:


> It would be a cleaner cut if it was trail maintenance. The wood looks shredded like it was chewed on. This is on an unmaintained trail/rd in a fairly remote section of Mt. Mansfield.
> 
> More likely a Wampahoofus than A Samsquatch =)



My feeling is just the opposite. Bite marks would be clean and probably not at a uniform height and wouldn't take as much wood. I'd say it a trimmer like the highway dept uses on an articulated arm. They leave ragged tips like that.


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## Huck_It_Baby (Feb 5, 2014)

Abubob said:


> My feeling is just the opposite. Bite marks would be clean and probably not at a uniform height and wouldn't take as much wood. I'd say it a trimmer like the highway dept uses on an articulated arm. They leave ragged tips like that.



I think you're right. I've seen the same types of cuts along other old logging roads and the CCC road. The fact that they are all similar height is the kicker for me.

I also NEVER see any moose on Mt. Mansfield.


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## bigbog (Feb 6, 2014)

Huck_It_Baby said:


> Under 1/2 inch.
> 
> I could be wrong that something is eating this. Hunters probably clear this road but it doesn't seem like a cut a man made tool would make.



Agree with Abubob,
On thin & somewhat flexible that's exactly what mechanical gear does.  I'd guess that they had some kind of cutter and it rapidly moved down that (what looks like) trail....but I wouldn't rule out deer.
Just looks like what I've seen when brush/small-trees, encroaching on small woods roads, are cut...not a clean scene...


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