Squirrels. They do the same to my sunburst locust tree. They break off
small branches to make a nest sometimes. I don't know how you can prevent
it. Maybe that is nature's way of natural pruning? :-)

"Dave" wrote in message
m...
Over the past few days, I have observed a number of twigs & branches from
one of the maple tree's in my yard scattered about the yard. They appear
to be cut at an angle but it is not a shear cut, more ragged. I suspect
an animal is doing this and am looking for a way to stop it. I have no
idea what animal is involved. I live in a rural subdivision. I have not
seen this occur before and none of my neighbor's are experiencing it. Any
clues what animal might be causing this and how I can prevent it?

Dave