Tree Manipulation/ Wood Structures: What Is The Evidence?

[Guest WesT]

What I've seen and documented does not occur naturally.  Slow down, spend some time, and take a closer look next time you see something unusual Terry, it's best to see it and figure it out for yourself. In more than one instance I've asked if anyone has an explanation as to how a pic I posted occured naturally. All I got in return was crickets.

[WSA]

Agreed WesT. Science requires an ecplanation better than "stuff happens, ya know."

[Terry]

What I've seen and documented does not occur naturally.  Slow down, spend some time, and take a closer look next time you see something unusual Terry, it's best to see it and figure it out for yourself. In more than one instance I've asked if anyone has an explanation as to how a pic I posted occured naturally. All I got in return was crickets.

 

Yes but it can be difficult making a proper determination from a photo.  Often one has to be at the location, look around at other trees in the area and as well, other evidence.  It also depends on the experience the person making the assumption has in the wilds.  Not on a trail, in the wilds.  All the best!

 

t.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Terry

[Guest WesT]

Terry, ok fair enough. Thanks for stopping in.

 

WSA, science is missing the boat on this one. To bad the subject is taboo.

[WSA]

I agree that a photo without a narrative or an on-the-ground investigation are of lesser value. Still, it doesn't take a leap of faith to notice that many of these items are rather peculiar and anomalous.

 

And here's an observation I made recently after a local winter storm last month. It may help explain some portion of these.

 

We had some winter precipitation that happened as the mercury hovered around 32 degrees. A few hundred feet in elevation difference resulted in either rain, sleet or wet snow. Driving along the crest of the mountain afterwards, I notice a single 3" pine tree that had been pulled down by the ice, with a distinctive twist. There were no other trees or limbs in the vicinity that were damaged. Once the ice melted, it stood as the lone damaged tree. 

 

So, I started to think about how ice selectively damages trees. By their nature, pretty much every tree is distinct. They not only differ in size, but by species, limb size, frequency of limbs, growth rates, moisture content...I mean, the list is endless. I know I tend to think of an ice event in terms of something that is strong enough to damage a whole bunch of trees at once, more or less across the board. Same with a wind event. But, the more I think about it, the more I realize there are those events that rise to a level of intensity that will only damage a few, or even just one of the most vulnerable trees. This gave me pause and I might not be so quick to say, "Ice couldn't have done that." Maybe it did.

 

Like I said though, this only explains (maybe) a portion of the things we've seen out there.

Edited March 26, 2015 by WSA

[Branco]

What I've seen and documented does not occur naturally.  Slow down, spend some time, and take a closer look next time you see something unusual Terry, it's best to see it and figure it out for yourself. In more than one instance I've asked if anyone has an explanation as to how a pic I posted occured naturally. All I got in return was crickets.

Comments on the "Tree Manipulation" part of the topic.

 

BF definitely manipulates trees for various reasons. The primary reasons are for trail and territorial markers, as well as obvious displays of raw strength intended as warnings to humans - and possibly for other BF - to stay out of certain areas. The most notable examples of the "raw strength" markers are around the perimeter of a family's bedding area. Those markers are usually located at the most likely points of entry into the general bedding areas and are usually within a half mile or so of each of the multiple general bedding/safe-haven areas they use. (When food or water sources are scarce they may forage over many square miles and have bedding spots along their travel routes.)

 

The living trees they manipulate along their trails are usually not very large – about two to five inches in diameter – and are typically soft-wood varieties. The trees are nearly always broken over their trails, but if the tree snaps off, the top is laid across the trail.

 

When larger trees – about five inches or more - are broken, twisted or bent over by partially up-rooting them, that typically indicates that a BF bedding/safe haven area is nearby, or sign that BF are seriously displeased with humans that are intruding and claiming part of their home territory.

.

As in several cases I have investigated, BF have used the "raw strength" displays to vividly show their displeasure when people clear an area and place or build a home on land they have routinely used as a travel route or prime foraging area for years. In many such cases, the BF will continue to pass through the area and will harass and try to intimidate the "intruders" for years.

 

It is not difficult to determine, with a great deal of certainty, when trees like those described above have been manipulated by a BF. The most obvious and compelling evidence is that the bark on the small trees is very noticeably abraded around the circumference at one location at a width of a large hand. It may be noted that small limbs/twigs on the trunk at that location are crushed and wrapped around the trunk. If the tree is twisted to make the break the abrasion will be more noticeable. The abrasion and bent twigs will be only a short distance from the break in the trunk. Small pine, cedar and gum trees typically display the conditions described when manipulated by a BF. If the damage is fresh, footprints or foot impressions can usually be seen by close observations. (Hunter’s often break very small trees as trail markers, but it is usually only the upper part of those trees. Both boar and sow feral hogs bite off the tops of small evergreens and softwoods with new foliage and leave it or may carry it off to make a bed for an expected litter.)

 

The larger tree they manipulate – typically pines, cedar, gums and maple – will typically show that the force and torque needed to break, bend or twist the tree will, in addition to abrading the bark, actually loosen the bark from the cambium layer of the tree at two or more locations on the trunk where their hands gripped it. On these larger trees, especially those which are more readily broken by bending and twisting, one or more of the damaged areas may be at strong limb locations so that the limbs can be used for torque and bending pressure points. It is not unusual to see that the bark on those limbs near the trunk are abraded, with portions of the bark on them having been loosened from their cambium layers as well.

 

 BF are known to manipulate (bend over) certain softwood trees in the early spring to eat the new buds on the trees.

 

When black cherry trees have mature fruit in the summer, it is common to see limbs broken off the upper parts of the trunks, and the broken limbs found pulled together in a pile in a spot under the tree. Invariably such conditions are the work of black bear. Their claw marks will be clearly visible on the bark of the trees, and the impression of their butts can be found in the center of the pile of fruit laden limbs. The bear hardly ever eat all the cherries, and the coyotes get a free meal.

[Guest]

I learn something from your posts every time I read one Branco. Thanks

[Terry]

Interesting post Branco but it's all speculation unless a bf was observed doing any or all of what you say they do.  In my view anyway.    

 

t.

[bipedalist]

Branco now that we have you here.  What about the loud tree pushovers with the snap, crash, boom, or extremely large limb breaks.  I have experienced them as both a demonstration and then (in that order when I didn't get the first message) as a warning that actually cut me off from an intentional descent into their home territory (I was being sneaky in snow but not sneaky enough obviously).  My question is, the sounds seem much too loud to justify the little bit of damage being done.  Do they somehow accentuate the noise of their breaks by adjunctively adding their own tree breaking sounds to your knowledge?

Edited March 28, 2015 by bipedalist

[Branco]

Interesting post Branco but it's all speculation unless a bf was observed doing any or all of what you say they do.  In my view anyway.    

 

t.

No Sir, it would not be speculation on anyone's part who uses their knowledge of the woods, logical reasoning, detailed examinations, and ordinary commons sense to conclude there is no other explanation for the unique tree damages. If these conditions are found in areas of known BF occupation, the conclusions are beyond mere speculation.   

[Branco]

Branco now that we have you here.  What about the loud tree pushovers with the snap, crash, boom, or extremely large limb breaks.  I have experienced them as both a demonstration and then (in that order when I didn't get the first message) as a warning that actually cut me off from an intentional descent into their home territory (I was being sneaky in snow but not sneaky enough obviously).  My question is, the sounds seem much too loud to justify the little bit of damage being done.  Do they somehow accentuate the noise of their breaks by adjunctively adding their own tree breaking sounds to your knowledge?

That's a good example of getting too close to their safe haven. I suspect - knowing how danged observant they are around their "No Trespassing" areas - they may have enjoyed watching you "being sneaky" in the snow so much they allowed you to get closer than normal just to see you run in the snow.  (Just kidding.)

 

Your question about the loud tree crashing is a good one. In the Ouachita Mountains during the past ten years or so there has been a serious problem with pine borers which was made worse by the NFS laying out their plantations with the trees set out too close together. In addition, the oak borers and the ones that attack the white ash trees have devastated much of the hardwood. In a nutshell, there is standing dead timber everywhere.

 

About five years ago, I "sneaked" in too close to one group's bedding area one afternoon, and one of the BF came down the side of the ridge and pushed down what had to be huge dead pine trees. Usually most of the larger limbs will fall off before the tree itself falls. In this, and others cases, it sounded as if the big pine had been deliberately pushed over so that it hit dead hard wood trees. There were loud cracking sounds when the pine was being rocked to break the rich pine heart, then crashing sounds, a very loud thud as the pine hit the ground, and immediately afterwards the sounds of large limbs falling. Like you, I didn't go up that slope to see what had actually happened. (At that particular time there had been a drought for many weeks, and the temperature was 104 degrees when I left my camper to go up the hollow, and there was not a speck of a breeze.)

 

A year or so after that, I camped on private, gated land in the Saline River bottoms. My trailer was parked just a few yards from the river and a few yards in the opposite direction was an old, rough woods road that followed alongside the river. Before I set up camp ANYWHERE, I closely inspect the surrounding timber to see that no dead trees are close enough to fall on the camper. The reason I parked just off the old road was that I and others that had access to the land had found that three BF - two adults and a young one - often traveled along the duff littered sides of the road at night. I set out a sound dish and recorded and listened from inside after I crawled in bed. About 11 PM I heard and recorded a woofing sound but really didn't pay much attention to it. (The area has lots of deer & hogs and some black bear.)

 

A few minutes later I heard heavy, bipedal feet running down the road, then a few seconds later another set of not so heavy feet running past me, and finally several seconds later came the pitter-patter of a little one following the other two. I lay there in awe of what I had heard; it was a new experience. I just lay laughing to myself about the little one for a few minutes, when I heard the sound of a tree being rocked back and forth through heavy vegetation. Through the amplified sound system, it sounded as if the sounds were close. When the rocking got to the point that the tree began cracking, I nearly panicked, thinking I had failed to see a dead tree in reach of my camper. When the tree finally broke and began falling across thickets of smaller trees and brush, making a hxxx of a loud noise, I hit the floor of the camper. It sounded like the tree was that close. When it hit the ground, I put on boots, grabbed a spotlight and the.38 S&W and ran outside to the road, Didn't see or hear anything then, or during the rest of the night except a pack of coyotes.

 

While my coffee was making the next morning I made a preliminary search of the immediate area and did not find the fallen tree. Afterwards, I searched for two hours in the thickets up and down the river and never found that danged tree. There are large area around the campsite that are so thick with green briars, honeysuckle, rattan vines and rattlesnakes that I may have missed finding the tree in one of  those areas. There is a possibility that the tree was pushed down on the other side of the river. The dish did not have a stereo input. (The one I have now does!) 

 

I didn't answer your real question, but I don't think I can do any better.

Regards

[bipedalist]

Yes, they reversed my course and ran me back up the mtn that day, no joke about that, lived to tell about it.   But yes I suspect they were planning to draw me down as far as they could to make the pain of climbing out and leaving that much more painful and intense.  I suppose it could just be the amplification of sound in hollows and echoes on adjacent ridges and such that makes the sounds more intense too.  In the example I was using there were parallel or adjacent ridges.   Pushover and large breaks were heard on both which were connected by a travelway through the hollow between them. These were heard in separate incidents, not the same day.   There was some fairly dense cover above that area where whitetail would sometimes embed, beyond some nice southern exposure that would be nice on a snowy morning.

 

I have heard discussion that they might be able to emulate loud cracking, crashing noises is the reason I asked. 

Edited March 28, 2015 by bipedalist

[Guest WesT]

Branco, thanks for the info! Much appreciated. Also, thanks for hearing me out back in 2013 about the hunting blind. My head was reeling back then and I appreciate the support. I owe you one. As you probably already know, it's difficult to stay focused when faced with such extreme environmental manipulation. Tree breaks don't do much for me even though I have photographed some of the more unusual ones I've seen.

 

So the plan this year is to be more focused and prove some of the things previously learned. And keep an eye out for anything new (of course).  Oh, and take bipedalist advice. Take measurements for scale, field notes for memory, and video the interesting things to get a better understanding of the terrain/surroundings. If I make improvements in the documenting process, it will no doubt improve my chances of achieving my goal of raising awareness.

[Branco]

WesT: Staying focused can be hard to do at times. Walk a little, look a lot, that's one key. It is very hard to see the movement of anything else when you are walking fast. It's amazing how many unusual things people can see if they just slow down; not sneaking just walking slow. Good luck! 

[Guest]

I wanted to post this again as I have really been looking this over. This possible "tool" has at least 6 places where there were other branches were broke off. The small branch off the handle is about 3/8" in diameter and I couldn't break it or crack it( I put some stress on it but didn't want to destroy possible evidence). I will show it to some trim carpenters at work tomorrow and get their  thoughts on it before I say anything to them about what I believe it could be.

I have used it when I go out in the NF as a drum stick and it has a nice tone.

 

It could also be used to pin or club a venomous snake on the head head.

 

Just too many things about it to have naturally occurred. A very strong man could have made it with some imagination I guess... More on it later.