Rat or Otter???

[tis]

I don't worry at all about the muskrats. We have them under a banking just beside our beach. They just had babies and it is so cute to watch the babies come out from under the tunnels. The parents have been busily carrying the foliage to their home all along. When they see us, they move away. Enjoy them. I would love to be able to see their home!!

The only thing I don't like about them is somebody ate my forsythia right down to the ground and we believe it was the muskrats. It was too rough a cut for a beaver.

[Misha888]

Originally Posted by tis

The only thing I don't like about them is somebody ate my forsythia right down to the ground and we believe it was the muskrats. It was too rough a cut for a beaver.

Hungry deer will eat a forsythia too, if there are a lot of them in the area. They've ate quite a bit of my flowers and the neighbors bushes. I plant extra for them . . . I'm a big softie.

[tis]

Originally Posted by Misha888

Hungry deer will eat a forsythia too, if there are a lot of them in the area. They've ate quite a bit of my flowers and the neighbors bushes. I plant extra for them . . . I'm a big softie.

Can they eat down big stems?

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by tis

Can they eat down big stems?

Deer would eat the tips and buds and they will strip some evergreens in winter...they will eat hosta right to ground level. Think the tops of trees and the tender branches...it's called "browse"
When starving in winter they will most likely eat anything they can reach, often times their wintering areas or "yards" the flora will look like it's been trimmed back above head level.

[tis]

The stems on this were about the size of two fingers and they ate them right to the ground. They chewed them down right to the ground almost, but it was a very rough cut. Could deer do that? I have had deer eat my shrubs, hostas and even foxglove but never these before if it was them who ate them.

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by tis

The stems on this were about the size of two fingers and they ate them right to the ground. They chewed them down right to the ground almost, but it was a very rough cut. Could deer do that? I have had deer eat my shrubs, hostas and even foxglove but never these before if it was them who ate them.

Not likely to be a deer that can chew a "2 finger" sized branch but stranger things have happened. I would think a wayward beaver may have chewed them. Was there a pointed stub on them? Beavers will take these types of shrubs and stockpile them under the water near their lodge for winter forage.