As urban sprawl increases, white-tailed deer have become more abundant across urban landscapes leading to increased deer encounters with residential fences. Deer-fence interactions can create dangerous situations for deer, first responders, and the public if a deer fails to jump over the fence effectively and becomes entangled in or on the fence. In order to reduce deer-fence conflicts, it is necessary to first understand the biomechanical processes deer use to cross vertical barriers. We conducted deer jumping trials in which captive deer crossed over vertical barriers (i.e., welded-wire fence panels) of varying heights while being recorded by high-speed cameras. We compared biomechanical measurements between successful and unsuccessful crossing attempts including joint angles, flight arc, and deer velocity through four phases of the jump: approach, take-off, suspension, and landing. We quantified biomechanical measurements among age, sex, and weight of deer relative to barrier heights. Our first sampling group consisted of 5 adult male deer (110 – 190 lb) and 30 total crossing attempts. Among all 30 attempts, 7 were successful, 9 were failures, and 14 did not attempt to cross. Across all biomechanical measures, it appears that the angle of the deer’s back at take-off, which affects the deer’s trajectory, most influences crossing success. We are conducting similar trials with 22 adult female deer. Altering the height and visual attributes of fencing (e.g., spacing and thickness of rails) will enable us to improve deer jumping success or entirely discourage deer from jumping barriers in order to reduce deer-fence conflicts.
