Broken tree tops

[e.brian]

I'm hunting in the Kelly Hill unit this week and came across an old skid road that has three trees (all about 7" tall) with the tops broke out of them about five feet up. Could this be from a bear marking its territory? The only sign I've in the area is one pile of poop that looks to be about a week old.

[Roosevelt]

What kind of trees were they? Did you look around and see any others in the area? Most of the time broken tops are due to weight from snow or especially ice. Alder breaks off really easy and doug fir can be pretty susceptible to it as well. Many tree species aren't built to handle the weight of snow or ice.

[saylean]

Check for hair at the breaks of the trees. Are there leaves on it? If so, are they wilted or still fresh...etc...

[dreamunelk]

Porcupine?

[bobcat]

Lots of trees around here with tops broke out from the ice storm we had a few years ago.  Or as already said, snow could likely be the cause as well. But yeah, it would help to know what kind of trees they were. The trees around here that bears commonly break the tops out of are cascara.

[e.brian]

All three were Douglas fir. I didn't notice any of them when I was up here three weeks ago. I saw the first two last Friday. I only just noticed the last one today and it looks like it was fresher than the other two. All of them still have green needles on them. My first thought was weather also. It just seems odd that I didn't notice them before. I literally had to walk around one of them on the path.

[huntnnw]

Male bears break the tops of small alders,aspens and birches this time of year much like how a whitetail buck makes scrapes and checks them a boar will do the same checking the ones he has broke by seeing if a female in the area has over marked his. These are not tree tops like some are imaging of a pine tree thats the size of your wrist..they are small brushy trees...no bigger than 2 fingers. Its easy to tell this time of the year when you see them broke over and they are still green a bear has done it..we have seen tons of them in 105 this year.

Bears are out up there, tons of sign and tracks everywhere we have been, saw 4 bears 4 weeks ago in 105.

[Chesapeake]

They stand up and rub their back on the tree and then reach back and break it pulling the top over their shoulder.
I've seen them do it.

Watch this vid. At the point he reaches back over his shoulder and grabs the tree is when they break the little tree's.
That's why they are broken up 5 foot or more.