It should come back, especially if it's just the leaves. Even buck rubs where a lot of the bark is rubbed off by their antlers won't kill a Japanese maple. Disfigure it, yeah, but not outright kill it. The bark has to be removed all around the trunk to kill a tree. Removing the leaves, especially this time of year isn't even going to harm the tree.

Are the leaves on the ground or are the gone?

Mike

Look what an elk did to this Japanese Maple. You can see the leaves on the ground, stripped bark, and broken off at the top. Look how he disturbed the soil. I was about to make a walking stick out of it when I noticed it sprouting at the base. It's been awhile since the damage was done and it's growing back fairly good now. Soon I will have to choose the sprouts that get to live........until the next elk visit. It's a seedling so there is no graft and the sprouts are not different from the rest of the tree.

When the pictured appeared I had to slide the lower bar to the right to see the sapling. The picture is too big.

I'll get another picture tomorrow when it's light out.

Mike

Here's that maple. The trunk was completely stripped from about 6 inches up.

The maple is a long way from the house and in a prime area for a deer or elk to mark it's territory.

Mike

Mike: Thanks. And you think that stump will come back in the spring? Wow. ...wdc

It's already come back. All those sprouts are from this year. The tree was stripped last Fall. I'll cut off the dead trunk. I left it to show some friends. I have damage on about 10 or 12 of my maples in that area. In some places as high as I can reach. None are stripped as bad as this small maple though. The other trees are much larger. Since I'm growing them from seeds, I can replace em' almost as fast as they are damaged. It's either that, or live with them damaged. Not a big deal. It's in the far part of the garden several hundred yards from the house.

Mike

Mike: " Since I'm growing them from seeds ..." That is really impressive. I never realized an amateur could do that with Japanese maples. I am going to look into that. ... mako202

You don't have to be a pro to raise Japanese maples from seed. It's not much different than planting beans or tomatoes.

See my post on Fall Maple Pictures 2015 in this Forum. Almost all of those were raised from seed.

Mike

Miketann and others: I only today had the opportunity to take a picture of my deer-attacked maple. The trunk shown here is about 18" high; it used to be about 30". Is there really a chance the tree will come back?

Your comments on growing maples from seed have excited me. Can someone please tell me:

What do these seeds look like? I see acorn-like pieces on the ground below a mature red maple; I assume these are NOT the seeds you are referring to, right?

Is this the right or wrong time to start such seedlings (in the Baltimore area)?

Thanks again. .... mako202

Those are not maple seeds. Your tree is too young to produce seeds.

The best time to start them is in the Spring after they have gone through a period of cold. I store mine outside under the covered back deck and plant them in the Spring.

Mike

Mike: Thanks. I have access to several mature Japanese maples. Is this the time to gather their seeds? Do you have a picture of what I should look for? ... Mako