Pruned cutting on the ground could probably be any critter. If my pic shows, this is the type of on tree damage deer do to me. They break limbs, strip the bark, etc.
I would be careful wrapping the tree with tape, I am not sure it can live. You might check with a nursery on that. I now have an electric fence that helps alot by not 100%.
Pappy
Matthew 7:12

I would bet that it is mice and voles. I had trouble last winter with them. They're able to chew away at the trunk til it snaps. A friend had a 6 foot tree that he covered for winter and when he uncovered it in spring there was no trace left that there was even a tree there. Set some traps and put mothballs in a container around the trunk to keep them away. I learned the hard way and won't take chances now.

Thanks for the comments. Yesterday afternoon I heard a fair amount of gunfire in the distance. I wonder if there are less deer now? No way to know.

The tree wrap is a flexible and stretchy fabric. It would just be for the winter. The package states "barrier against insects and rodents". I think if I don't use it I might regret it. At least I will try.

I have two plum trees and some small apples that were completely defoliated by deer. I'm building cages for those this winter, as time permits.

Whether it be mice, voles or rabbits, I would definitely protect them by some means. There's nothing like discovering that your tree became some animal's breakfast, lunch and dinner! Yikes!

This is a plastic-feeling mesh fabric tree wrap. It doesn't look tooth-proof. The label claims protection of trees from rodents. Maybe the theory is, if it doesn't look like bark, they won't be attracted to it.

I don't want to use poisons. There are raptors in the area. I'm sure they eat a lot more rodents than I can kill. If a raptor eats a poisoned rodent, it might make the raptor sick or kill it, resulting in increase in rodent population.

Next weekend I'll look for some wire cloth to serve as an outer layer for the lower part.

It might work. It might not.

I had exactly the same problem with a plum tree. Something ate off all of the bark from the ground up about 4 inches. I think it is rats!! Getting ready to plant 2 figs and am uncertain what to do. Looks like the white tree wrap and maybe some moths balls will work. I am going to ask at my local nursery too. Thanks for all of the great information!

This is definitely done by a deer! In the fall, young buck deer find a nice young tree with bark that "feels right", and they go to work, rubbing their young horns to denude them of their fuzz and ready them for the competition for females. I always find damage to young fig trees with upright trunks and a size of about one half to one inches in diameter. Some form of physical protection is what is needed. The spiral protectors that are available from most tree nurseries will do the trick. This is not a problem unique to figs. They will attack nut trees and any other that is the right size. Rodents don't cause this type damage.

I wrapped a big wad of cat hair around the base of some small trees in the basement and a tree outside because there are plenty of voles and mice in the area. First time trying it so who knows how it will go. I also read that small sharp rocks or oyster shells piled around the trunks is supposed to help.

I discovered damage to my youngest fig trees. Two were started from cuttings, desert King. One of those was eaten completely off to ground level. Other I caught earlier, it was reduced from a foot to about 3 inches. I've covered the remainder with chicken wire. Similar, multiple branches from a petite negri that was 2 feet tall, and Sal's similar size. I think I caught it before damage set them back too far. There has been no further damage since creating chicken wire cages for those. I hope that lasts for the winter.

I have not grown figs out doors yet but i put wire cages around all of my young fruit trees , but i use wire with much smaller holes to keep mice , voles out , besides deer.

It's rodents - either mouse or rat or voles. My 8' tall 4 year old fig tree was wrapped with frost proof felt-like material and then covered in a tarp held in place with bungee cords. The base was packed in leaves and the leaves were surrounded with netting. The tarp went down to the netting. I have been successful with this method in the past. When I uncovered the tree this year I noticed holes in the fabric and lots of mouse droppings. I thought I'd find a nest, but there was no nest. The tree is almost completely white from stripped bark. We'll see if it recovers. It's NOT DEER in my case since my tree is in a fenced garden area (7' high) and the fabric and tarp and netting were all still in place. Live and learn - NONE of the sites providing guidance on winterizing fig trees even mention the potential of rodent damage. It's a hard lesson to learn.

our area has pack rats. I think they were eating the leaves off of a young fig tree I planted. The tree was bare. When the weather warmed up, I think the rats had enough food outside my yard that they left the tree alone. Now there are more leaves growing on the tree. I'm looking forward to having mature figs.

I had the same problem two years ago and the tree got mold on some of the branch when I covered them after I notice the chewing. I had to cut down the tree to the ground. It did comeback and made figs. This year it did make figs as it didn't have this problem I guess because we had been hunting the rabbit. This year today I got the same problem , some of the branches are chewed out and stripped although the ground is covered with snow around the tree. I found a foot print of rabbits to the tree, it is a rabbits not voles or rats, our neighbours cat and straight cat are always out, so yeah it's the damn rabbit and I don't have deers in my

My tree has almost every brach chewed after this winter. Does it need to be cut downbto the bottom or do i take a chance

Milton-

I've had that happen, too. I prune back any branch where the bark is girdled (chewed all the way around). However, where the bark is just chewed away on one side I often leave it alone and it does ok.