Wondering
By eirlys
11 comments
This morning we found the deep gouges as pictured, in our lawn. They look similar to the impressions made by a claw-like tool.
We have a young stag who visits to eat the tulips but don’t think he has made these marks.
Although there are badgers on the heathland around us we don’t often see the former in our garden but one, or two, could have made those gouges.
Any ideas?
2 Apr, 2016
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Comments
Looks like antler scrapes. This time of year most antlers have been cast off though there could be some males that still have them and are using them for marking if they are having hormonal trouble and are not yet in a docile mood. There are also, in some instances, females that are antlered and they won't drop off. The other possibility ...what else, the perfect combination, a boy with a stick.
2 Apr, 2016
I have badgers and fox clawing and digging in the garden but it is much more random.deer certainly sounds more logical
3 Apr, 2016
Curious how all the lines seem to converge on one end or fan out from one point. Would a deer do this pattern? It almost resembles ground roots or surface roots that were pulled up.
3 Apr, 2016
We have lived here for many years and seen evidence of both fox and stag fights. (The latter made some blood-curdling noises!). We have never seen a "pattern" like this.
Loosestrife2: Your explanation must be the correct one as it is logical!!
(Being Welsh I did wonder............but I follow J. K. Rowling's advice, "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".)
3 Apr, 2016
Bathgate there appear to be two sets of scrapes. One set of five grooves from a single swipe perpendicular to the edge of grass and another swipe at a 45 degree to the first. That's why they look convergent. These swipes are made by a deer ( if it is that) raking with its head sideways.
3 Apr, 2016
i'm inclined to think deer too but perhaps pawing the ground with their hooves as well as antler grooves. you'll have to invest in a trip beam camera [only a jokey suggestion as they are rather expensive]
3 Apr, 2016
I've got one and used it once. Caught a picture at night (infrared mode) not of a deer but of a kid carrying a liter bottle of vodka in the woods!
3 Apr, 2016
oh that is brilliant loosestrife2 :o))
3 Apr, 2016
Yep I too would follow that advice Eirlys, it would make you take a step backwards when you first saw it...
3 Apr, 2016
Er, I think I'll just leave things as they are!
No youths with sticks etc here. Friends get lost trying to find us and even the satnav tells us to "turn around wherever possible"!
Google Earth gave me a bit of a turn when I saw the area on line. No wonder people say they have seen big cats around!!
4 Apr, 2016
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My goodness, no idea although we had a badger and that tended to dig smalls holes.
2 Apr, 2016