elk, among a number of other mammals, eat the bark of aspen trees - particularly in the winter months when the nutritional value of many of the grasses is lowest. i’ve seen moose also eating the bark, but mule deer, mice and all manner of animals will chew on the bark. the stripping of the bark results in scarring on the bark. while these scars may not necessarily be from elk, it doesn’t sound as good to call it elk and other animals scarred aspen.