Found this tree on some private land that has seen very little human traffic in years and years, even from the owner. I did have a bear on a trail cam a few nights ago about 600 yards away. The highest mark was about as tall as my reach and I am 5’10”. It was along a well worn game trail following a creek/swampy area. There are hogs there but no hog is cutting a tree that high, plus there was no mud.

Or is it an insect or small animal? I same many other trees of this type and none had these markings, and it was only on the game trail side of this one. It was also at an intersection of about 5 main game trails. It is hard to see from the potato pic but the gouges run diagonally down or almost horizontal. Not straight down vertically like a cat usually does.

Any fur snagged in the bark?

Nope

I thought maybe a squirrel but that tree has a slight lean back toward me and the game trail. That would put the squirrel in a negative G pushover while gnawing on bark...which I doubt would happen. The fact that the trail was worn out like a cattle path and it was facing that trail made me think it was a larger animal. I put a cam on that tree and trail. I’ll check it in a week and see if anything shows I guess.

For lack of evidence, I'd go with buck rub.

It may have happened in Aug or early Sept, so tracks and other tells are already gone?

google foo examples:
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&biw=1548&bih=869&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=Wx-bXaeKIunH_QbN1Y6gAg&q=buck+rub++&oq=buck+rub++&gs_l=img.3..0l4j0i30j0i24l5.53829.53829..54145...0.0..0.94.94.1......0....1..gws-wiz-img.WKTa1j9Vk1U&ved=0ahUKEwjno-vZg4rlAhXpY98KHc2qAyQQ4dUDCAY&uact=5#imgrc=_

Too high for a buck. Something with claws. OP, how high to the top mark?

Yeah, very odd for a buck. Don't usually see on trees that large, they like the little ones so they can wrap around it.
Bear claws usually go all zig-zag and look kinda-like lightning bolts. Unless, of course, they tear the whole thing up.
Squirrels won't usually go that hard on the thick bark, not that I've ever seen.
Do you have Porcupine i the area? They can tear a tree up real good and often go near the 7ft mark. The horizontal lines you're referring to could be a Porcupines teeth moving back and forth, like corn on the cob. He might have realized that bark wasn't worth the bite

Over 6.5 feet

The marks do zig zag. They are not pin point sharp like a cat. I’m leaning toward bear, but as mentioned there was no fur.

No porcupines around here.

This was a couple nights ago about 5-600 yards from that tree.

I'm not sure what that is, but I get bears in my yard all the time. I have a 90' Cedar in my front yard and they claw the shit out of it routinely. It doesn't look like a bear to me.

I am however an expert in cleaning up bear shit, fuckers seem to have a thing for shutting on my lawn. Perhaps the clawing stimulates a turd.

Perhaps, they sense a force to be reckoned with?
YMMV :]

Attached File

Usually bears with claw around shoulder height to above their head and rub their shoulders and head against the area to leave scent.
Down by the ground like that doesn't make sense. I've seen wooden powerline poles here in Northern PA that were shredded by bears.
Some were shredded pretty high up.
There are some big bears in that area though. A couple of 600+ lbers had been taken lately.
I would guess porcupine also. They like to chew on all kinds of stuff.

10-4. As far as the porcupines, we don’t have porcupines anywhere near here.

Up here bears usually mark conifers, beech, birch etc. That looks to be an ash tree to me from the picture And I haven’t seen them mark ash up here. They typically stick to softer trees.  It looks like a marking tree where the bear runs his back on the tree and typically they bite it over their shoulder.

If it is a marking tree it will be on that bears travel route and he will be back. Put a camera on the tree and see what you get.

Bob