Apparently there are dinosaur beavers in this old floodplain on my land. Some of these trees are over 16” in diameter.

If it’s a disease I’ve never seen anything like it, that shi looks just like beaver damage. 

I haven’t seen a tree completely chewed through, just the outer bark. Maybe they’re girdling them for the limbs? All sweetgum trees https://image.nostr.build/bfb86ccc6ac0b3fbd1c3c8f6aa6835648a141817cb1a4d6ae923aba593d1d16c.jpg https://image.nostr.build/7d427496cf34257245a5d65439c2d642fd5e02dc4925de354c524b3915b08b3a.jpg https://image.nostr.build/33028ef5c692805a1a81ee2ff159f8dccd9bd23a205771e4432044df50ab414c.jpg