Antelope and Fences
- Thread starter soupcreek
- Start date
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DallanC
Guest
They absolutely will jump a fence. I've hunted enough of them that would jump fences to make it annoying.
-DallanC
-DallanC
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BlackTimber
Guest
Antelope will never ever jump fenses for any reason, not ever!!!!
Just kidding...They jump and jump often.
Just kidding...They jump and jump often.
joebobhunter4
Member
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- 15
when they run away in herds or whatever you call them.... i always see the does go under the fence and the buck jumps over...
ICMDEER
Very Active Member
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- 2,997
They jump fences but not very often. Sheep-tight fences are hard on antelope and are barriers to their movements, especially when they need to migrate out due to tough weather.
I've seen a very few antelope jump fences in a lot of years of looking. Most just won't jump a fence.
I've seen a very few antelope jump fences in a lot of years of looking. Most just won't jump a fence.
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Gotlost
Guest
I was fishing High Savery Res yesterday and on the way out we saw a young buck go between the top and 2nd stran of fence. hair and hide flew. he hit the groung, got back up and hauled butt! if he'd gone another 100yrds the fence ended! they are not real bright and that age.
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josh
Guest
www.#####.com One ranch I hunted in Wyoming every buck seemed to like to jump the fences for fun.
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jmcenulty
Guest
I have seen them jump fences on to seperate occasions. Both were bucks.
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dleonard3
Guest
I had heard the same thing about antelope not jumping fences, so while bowhunting on the Dutton unit, I thought I had one cornered in a small fenced off pasture. I tried to sneak in to the feeding buck, but when he notice me he ran to the fence, and put his head down and hooked his horns under the lowest wire, lifted up, and squeezed under. Then he ran off a couple hundred yards and watched me for a while, then went back to feeding. Whether they jump over, squeeze under, or fly between the wires, fences won't hold them.
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littlefoot
Guest
'bogey' is right....you guys need to check the photo forum more often....'hunterbob' is always posting pics of them 'going over the top'...
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utahheadgear
Guest
I'm sure they will jump, though I'm not sure I've ever witnessed it first hand. If they can in fact jump, which it seems they can, I think they would rather walk about five miles out of their way to find a way under than to simply jump it.
Those antelope sure are dizzy-headed at times.
Those antelope sure are dizzy-headed at times.
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Salmonfg
Guest
As others have stated, pronghorn do occasionally jump fences, but that is the exception rather than the rule. Fences have been a major contributor to pronghorn migration and movement problems. Significant pronghorn losses, population declines, and loss of ability to use some areas have been attributed to fences that do not allow adequate pronghorn passage.
Management guidelines for fences use a bottom smooth wire height of at least 16" above ground to allow passage, higher is better. Some of the largest pronghorn "kills" have occurred in winter when snow builds up so that pronghorn cannot crawl under fences - in many cases large groups of pronghorn have frozen/starved to death because they could not negotitate a fence when moving ahead of a winter storm. Even under normal conditions, fences can reduce population performance by reducing pronghorns' ability to move freely about the landscape because of decreased ability to reach quality forage or water, increased energy costs from trying to find ways through or around fences, decreased ability to avoid predators, direct mortality from fence entanglement, becoming "trapped" between fences along a highway/railroad, and more.
Although their reluctance to jump fences may be construed as not being too smart, it may help to consider that the species evolved over thousands of years in habitats without vertical barriers. Before European man entered the scene, they never had a reason to jump over anything - they are built for seeing over long distances and running full tilt over essentially flat ground without obstacles.
Tom Keegan
Salmon Region Wildlife Manager
Management guidelines for fences use a bottom smooth wire height of at least 16" above ground to allow passage, higher is better. Some of the largest pronghorn "kills" have occurred in winter when snow builds up so that pronghorn cannot crawl under fences - in many cases large groups of pronghorn have frozen/starved to death because they could not negotitate a fence when moving ahead of a winter storm. Even under normal conditions, fences can reduce population performance by reducing pronghorns' ability to move freely about the landscape because of decreased ability to reach quality forage or water, increased energy costs from trying to find ways through or around fences, decreased ability to avoid predators, direct mortality from fence entanglement, becoming "trapped" between fences along a highway/railroad, and more.
Although their reluctance to jump fences may be construed as not being too smart, it may help to consider that the species evolved over thousands of years in habitats without vertical barriers. Before European man entered the scene, they never had a reason to jump over anything - they are built for seeing over long distances and running full tilt over essentially flat ground without obstacles.
Tom Keegan
Salmon Region Wildlife Manager
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huntin100
Guest
Thanks TOM. Good info.
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proutdoors
Guest
Thanks for the informative post Tom. I actually learned something on this forum now.
PRO
PRO
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MortgageMan
Guest
Tom,
That is a very informative post that you made. I got a quick question for you. I was told when I was younger that the reason that they don't jump fences very often is because they are built different than deer, they are obviously built for speed. Well, I was told that they do not have the same muscles in their legs for high jumping fences, they can broad jump a mile but their muscles really hinder them from high jumping. It made sense to me for years. Has anyone else heard this and could there be some truth to it?
That is a very informative post that you made. I got a quick question for you. I was told when I was younger that the reason that they don't jump fences very often is because they are built different than deer, they are obviously built for speed. Well, I was told that they do not have the same muscles in their legs for high jumping fences, they can broad jump a mile but their muscles really hinder them from high jumping. It made sense to me for years. Has anyone else heard this and could there be some truth to it?
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Salmonfg
Guest
I've not heard or read of any differences in musculature that fit that explanation. The fact that they occassionally do jump (and have cleared 7-8' fences on rare occassions, such as capture operations) suggests the muscle explanation probably is incorrect. To my knowledge,the evolutionary/bahvioral development is the most widely accepted explanation.
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starbaileyranch
Guest
I had my first antelope hunt last year in Montana. We watched them on two seperate occasions jump. I've seen them jump on videos befor but didnt think I'd see it cuz of all the fuss made over them not wanting to go over. First time was a single buck the second time was 3 doe and one small buck.
bryan
bryan
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tmbrlinewarden
Guest
LAST EDITED ON Aug-16-07 AT 01:52AM (MST)[p]I agree, thanks Salmonfg (Tom)for a fantastic post. He's dead on about the evolution of antelope for full out speed, and the evolutionary trade off of a deminished ability for jumping and leaping. That DOES have everything to do with the way their skeletons and musculature has evolved. On the other end of the spectrum, bighorn sheep or Ibex fare pretty poorly trying to outrun predators on flat ground, but I've seen them Jackie-Chan out of a 12 foot chainlink cage. The behavior exhibited by deer of changing direction midbound and zig-zagging across broken terrain when pursued comes about because that's what their bodies have evolved the ability to do. To take it to the obvious extreme, the Bison's behaviour of turning towards and pummeling a predator has everything to do with the fact that they're huge and have an 80lb chunk of bone and horn on the end of their neck.
Individual speedgoats are more able to jump than others (some humans can swim pretty well but most of us should probably stick to the bipedal dirtwalking). As a whole- fences (especially the old-school type of cattle or sheep fences) are a real deterant to movement and migration. Antelope generally cross fences by hook or by crook and anytime they are forced to cross a fence in full out flight mode they stand the risk of injury or plumb broken neck. (NM has pretty strict laws against pursuing antelope with vehicles or otherwise chasing them down)
Tom (again) is right about goats and snow. Mass winterkill of pronghorns is much more common than other species, they have as much trouble transversing deep snow as they have with fences. Deer can slowly starve to death or get eaten with prolonged deep snow- antelope can die (basically from exposure) in the matter of a few days. I found 15+ dead goats in the corner of a pasture this winter after a big storm drifted deep and trapped them. We only had about 72 hours of snow storm that melted down to grass within a week or so. I've wondered if a lion or something had come along and panicked them through the fence if they might have survived.
http://www.naweoa.org/mod.php?mod=userpage&page_id=15&menu=1500
Individual speedgoats are more able to jump than others (some humans can swim pretty well but most of us should probably stick to the bipedal dirtwalking). As a whole- fences (especially the old-school type of cattle or sheep fences) are a real deterant to movement and migration. Antelope generally cross fences by hook or by crook and anytime they are forced to cross a fence in full out flight mode they stand the risk of injury or plumb broken neck. (NM has pretty strict laws against pursuing antelope with vehicles or otherwise chasing them down)
Tom (again) is right about goats and snow. Mass winterkill of pronghorns is much more common than other species, they have as much trouble transversing deep snow as they have with fences. Deer can slowly starve to death or get eaten with prolonged deep snow- antelope can die (basically from exposure) in the matter of a few days. I found 15+ dead goats in the corner of a pasture this winter after a big storm drifted deep and trapped them. We only had about 72 hours of snow storm that melted down to grass within a week or so. I've wondered if a lion or something had come along and panicked them through the fence if they might have survived.
http://www.naweoa.org/mod.php?mod=userpage&page_id=15&menu=1500
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studpile
Guest
On a jog a couple of years back I ran up on a herd of 20 plus speedgoats. They took off at a trot well before I reached them and came to a fenced dry farm field. About half went over, and half went under the fence. Prior to that, even living in Nevada for sometime, I didn't think they went over the top at all. They do whatever is convenient... like the rest of us.
"The vast majority of people don't realize that some of us expend tremendous amounts of energy to merely appear normal."
"The vast majority of people don't realize that some of us expend tremendous amounts of energy to merely appear normal."
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hunterbob
Guest
Are these OK
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NDBadlandsbucks
Guest
Growing up, we always had a few goats around, but it took until I was 26 years old to see one jump a fence, in the year since then, I saw one more.
Keep the Sun at Your Back and the Wind in Your Face
Keep the Sun at Your Back and the Wind in Your Face
Dean Parisian
Active Member
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- 440
Jumping fences is easier than a long swim for a goat!!!!!
Dean Parisian
Chippewa Partners
Team Muleys Pro Staff
http://chippewapartners.blogspot.com
Dean Parisian
Chippewa Partners
Team Muleys Pro Staff
http://chippewapartners.blogspot.com
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hunterbob
Guest
I've seen a lot jump fences but never seen one swimming. Then again I guess you need water around. Kinda dry around here.
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JohnQPubic
Guest
I don't know about diving but occasionally.........
