My small maple (4" dia.) tree has many deep gouges in it. They look like the gouges I've seen bears make in trees up north but not here in Hawthorn Woods. The gouges are about a foot long starting about 2 feet above the ground. Some go completely through the bark, exhibiting a lot of power. I have a picture but don't see how to attach it. I'm anxsious to learn what happened. Thanks - Bill

Bill e-mailed me pictures of the damage to the maple tree. The damage was caused by a white-tailed deer rubbing its antlers against the bark of the tree. These photos will be posted soon in the Damage to Plants section of the Identify an Animal page of the website: http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/wildlife/identify_plants.cfm