Just because they aren' t traditionally moose or elk in your area doesn' t mean there can' t be know. Case and point last fall while ML hunting for mulies I was setup in a meadow of rolling hills, when much to my dismay out wlked a very nice 45" bull moose...it seemed way out of place but after discussing it with other hunters, farmers in the area and the CO it appears there is a pretty decent pocket of them in the area, the thought was they followed the river down and just ventured east and found a new home, unbothered, unpressured & lots of food. Also next year they are proposing a season for Elk in the same area as a herd has now established to over 100 animals from a herd of 1 bull with 7 cows & 2 calfs some years ago...same scenrio is believed to produce the new location for this elk. (this is less than 1/2 hour from Saskatoon to the SOUTH!).

However I wonder if it was a cut, it isn' t a porcupine if fresh...it could also be a mark from the skidder but it wouldn' t look fresh if done last winter.