To me, sounds like voles. Occasionally squirrels and voles will move garlic cloves but they usually don't eat / bother them. I usually have to plant shallots with a layer of grit (or stonedust) around them to protect them ... and then the critters just eat the tulip bulbs instead.

thanks for the tip re: grit around the shallot bulbs, i was thinking squirrels my self, but couldnt imagine the squirrels eating the shallot bulbs, but who knows, eh? A fellow gardener said he wouldnt doubt that squirrels had done it, "just for fun!"