Java
I have seen this same thing the past couple years. Huge scrapes under smaller trees. We found about 5 of them in a hundred yard area a couple years ago and the ground was destroyed, trees all marked up. It was this time of year too.
We thought it was pretty strange too. But it does happen.
We thought it was a big buck(s) that did it because of the scratches on the bark of the tree were pretty high up..