Aspen Scars

You may notice scars in the bark of the park's aspen trees. These tears in the white bark -- which can kill the tree -- are caused by a variety of Rocky Mountain wildlife, including elk and other foraging animals that eat the soft inner bark when other food is scarce, black bears marking their territory, and mule deer and elk that use the trees to shed velvet from their antlers in the fall. Woodpeckers also can damage the bark by making holes to search for insects or to make nests.