Animal Holes in Garden

(Question)

Hello. We have two holes beside a fence in our back yard — about four inches across. Our yard faces east. We have rabbits, skunks and ever present raccoons, squirrels and chipmunks in our vicinity. Which of these might be the culprit, do you think? Thank you for your anticipated answer.

(Answer)

Toronto’s gardens are full of fauna, and many of these animals are diggers and burrowers.  The most likely candidates would appear to be skunks and chipmunks as well as the Norway rat, which is an increasingly frequent visitor to gardens in Toronto.

Here is some information on these potential culprits from a previous Toronto Master Gardeners post:

https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/askagardener/burrow-holes-in-garden/

Skunks, which are abundant in some parts of the city, are also burrowers.  Here is a link to the City of Toronto’s advice: https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/animals-pets/wildlife-in-the-city/skunks/