I would think that groundhogs would eat the leaves. You didn't describe any bite marks or damage to the leaves? I would suspect voles. But hey that's me. Here is a link that might be useful: http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/Voles.asp

I'm with gonefishin about snow making for the best rabbit hunting. They can't run far or fast unless there's a crust and they leave plenty of tracks to show where they're burrowed in. My husband prevented me from killing and eating the squirrel that fell down the chimney a few years ago and I still haven't forgiven him for that. ;) If I were you I'd just leave the pile as is and watch around it for tracks. If you see some, dig out the rabbit. (killing and eating optional - and even if you live in the city, I did my best rabbit hunting without a gun... and with a quick hand).

The yellow pear tomatoes haven't deterred the rats in my garden. If fact, that is the only tomato plant they haven't even touched. My 40 heirloom tomato plants were 6ft tall, green and gorgeous. I did a great job of killing the rooms and keeping pests away until they started ripening. Now I can't stop them from eating all my tomatoes. I made individual cages for all remaining big tomatoes to keep the rats out. The outside light just turned on and I looked out and 3 small tomatoes were gone just like that but the mini caged ones haven't been touched. I have yet to see the rodents actually steal or eat tomatoes...they are quick and work well at night that's for sure. And they steal my cherry tomatoes too but don't like Black Prince tomatoes (which is good cuz they are my favorite). But I have to come up with good game plan for next year because I lost a lot of money this year and realistically can't make mini cages for all my tomatoes. I should post a picture.

So, here's a related question: Has anybody ever had an issue with a mouse or similar rodent killing their just planted seedlings? This spring, I planted my seedlings and within or day or two they started to get cut off at the stem. Since this has NEVER happened to me, and I had cutworm protection on the stems (the seedlings were getting cut off right above the standard 2-3 inch wrapping) so I assumed it was a rabbit. Just to be sure, I later replaced the wrappings with 4 inch lengths of vinyl tubing, which just moved the knawing-off problem higher on the stem. If it had been a groundhog, I would have noticed a large hole in the garden fence, not to mention, groundhogs generally don't eat one or two at a time. So, I wrapped up the cages (I have them in Concrete Wire cages) with a 1 inch plastic rabbit fence two feet up each cage. I kept loosing seedlings. So now I was completely baffled but thought perhaps this small rabbit was able to squeeze under my cages because there was an inch or two of straw mulch that perhaps created a way for them to get in. I sprayed the plants with the absolutely disgusting rabbit/deer spray. The very next morning, two more seedlings were gone, although one was just laying next to where it was cut off. I reapplied, hoping that maybe the animal finally got the idea that the plants were distasteful. The next morning, two more gone, but this time I found something strange. I found that the seedling had been cut off and dragged halfway under the straw mulch next to where it had been cut off. So, whatever it was that was killing my seedlings was actually coming up from under the mulch. When I posted this story earlier this year in the pest forum, it was suggested that it is probably a mouse. Has anybody else ever experienced something like this, and if so, how on earth should I sheild my plants from this problem next year? My dad suggested cutting off soda cans and sticking them into the ground around the seedlings. I think that might work, but I also think the mouse could just go right over it. Then again, the freak mouse that did it this year will almost certainly be dead by this time next year. They just don't live that long.