Girdling damage to a young tree at ground level is most likely caused by which animal?

• A. Deer
• B. Beavers
• C. Rabbits
• D. Voles

Answer: (D)

Girdling damage at ground level on a young tree is most characteristic of vole activity. Voles live in the leaf litter and often move under the snow, gnawing all around the base of a sapling. This creates a circular ring of damaged bark and cambium, which interrupts the flow of nutrients and water from the roots to the rest of the tree. Since saplings have thin bark and small diameters, a complete girdle can kill them or cause them to die back above the girdled area.

Beavers typically affect larger trees near water and create large patches of bark removal or felling, not a clean girdle around a small sapling. Deer damage is usually from browsing or rubbing, producing irregular scars or bark removal higher up or on larger trees, not a precise circular girdle at soil level. Rabbits can nibble bark on small stems, but their damage is usually patchier or on smaller plants, not a continuous girdle encircling the base of a young tree.

So, the circumscribed girdling at the base of a young tree points to voles as the most likely culprit.