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> OK rodent experts on NatureNS: On the question of the identification of which rodent hacked up our rose bush stems and alder branches about 2 weeks ago: I've just photographed some of the cut ends of the branches and uploaded four of these pics to a site I've used before for IDs, namely www.flickr.com/photos/steve_1968/2892388417/ where the last number should get you to the end of the series, while the other three relevant photos are next door to this. The lighting was not that great but I've touched the pics up a bit. Hopefully, they may be enough for experts to tell whether it could have been a beaver, or whether a muskrat is still in the running for the animal responsible. I've put a scale on each photo, and some measurements. The length of the longest gouge mark (on a recently found birch branch) measured in the direction that it was obviously made, was 7.5 mm. Others averaged ~6 mm, and yet others were smaller still, ~4 mm. Assuming that it was the same one animal moving through, this rodent obviously and unhelpfully used a variable gouge-length, to use Dave's analogy. As it was obviously capable of at least 7.5 mm in a single gnaw, this would seem to be the most definitive identifier. I also discovered another stout vertical alder stem sticking out of the lake that had been cut off 13-14 inches above lake level, and which was stiff enough that it could not have been bent over easily to chew on. This seems a bit tall to me, for a muskrat to have done it. So, does anyone on the list think that a clear identification can be made from this evidence? Could Charlie the muskrat have done this, or do the pictures suggest the handiwork of a transient beaver? We have had no further damage here since, but a neighbour some distance away at the outlet end of the lake reports that she found a cut branch on her driveway a couple of days ago. Steve, Halifax
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