This area of NW Central Texas is apparently odd. Birds that don't belong such as Roseate spoonbills, pelicans (4mi away), cormorants, wild variaty of ducks and now something that ate my young cypress trees.
I'm guessing nutria. Any other ideas what this may be and how to kill this critter?
Both are chewed off underwater.
Can a turtle do this? We have softshells.

I had a beaver chew a few of my bald cypress off before they were trapped out, but all trees were cut above water. I have never seen muskrats chew on the cypress but if hungry enough, they will chew off small willows and poplars. No nutria in my neck of the woods.

RAH - I looked into muskrats. They can chew below water and we are on the outskirts of their range. Based on the tooth marks etc that's more likely. Now, how to catch them?!?

I was successful with a live-catch cage trap baited with apples. I put a metal spike through the apple after putting it in the back of the trap so the rats had to work harder to get it out and were more likely to trigger the trap.

Walk around the pond and look for muddier water sections about 6"-8" wide going into the bank. More than likely that's a muskrat tunnel. Set a conibear trap underwater at the opening of the tunnel. Make sure to secure the chain. If it was winter and there was ice you would look for smaller air bubbles leading to the bank again that's were the tunnel would be. break the ice and set the trap the same way.

Funny thing is that my muskrats never touched the cypress, but I know populations of wild animals differ in their diets in different places.

Critters eat cactus out here. Spring is just getting started and aquatic plants are scarce. My live trap is collecting dust and needs to be used.

The bite
marks are very large. Looks to me too big for muskrat. How close are you to a creek or river?

5 miles from a fork of the Brazos river. No beaver out here and nutria are unlikely.

I’m betting you have a stray beaver. I didn’t think I had them either at Bowie. I did and still occasionally do.

Come spring the pair of beavers kick the 2 year old's out of their area. Any small stream they will travel up. Here they come up a stream that's 2 to 3 feet wide and 3 to 16 inches deep, over 10 miles from an actual creek.

Has anyone ever heard of beaver cutting down trees below the water surface?

RAH, are we talking trees that were above the water at one time, then flooded?

Seems not based on the first post in this thread?

They were planted then flooded for a couple weeks before being eaten. The water level has dropped a few inches since and the stumps are still underwater.

Just talked to my 36yr old neighbor who grew up out here. In casual conversation about growing up and how times have changed he brought up killing nutria at the lake 5mi from my pond. He said they were thick.
My live trap is coon/skunk/cat size. Is that large enough? Or will I just have to shoot them?

Found fresh beaver sign in one of our ponds and two of our wetlands. Hoping its the same animal and just passing through after being driven off by its parents.