Now you’ll have that stuck in your head for the rest of the day…[:-,]
This past weekend, we were in the Black Hills area of western South Dakota. The area outside the hills is open range land-miles of nothing but grazing cattle and deer. I noticed something along I-90, and at places along the DM&E (CP) rail line that looked strange.
The land out there is rolling hills. The interstate is fenced on both sides with the standard wire fence, about 5 feet tall. For the most part, the DM&E line by Rapid City seemed to have the same type fence. (You have to wonder about the usefulness of the fence, as there was every type of squashed animal imaginable on the highway).
The fences follow the lay of the land- up the hill, down the hill… Where the fences were in the valley, so to speak, of the terrain, they were different. The fences there, were about 12 feet tall. Do deer really jump that high? I know the 5 foot high fence doesn’t even slow down a deer, but I thought 12 foot may have been overkill. Also, why just in the valleys? Wouldn’t a deer be just as apt to jump over the fence at the top of the hill?
Were I in a DM&E locomotive, I would have been less concerned about deer running accross the ROW than I would be about all the cattle grazing on the tracks.
Definately NOT snow fences. Snow fences are built out of wooden slats- typically 6" wide boards, with 4" spaces between them. A wire fence won’t hold snow and better than it would hold rainwater. The fences would definately be for critters, as there are very few humans wandering the open fields of the upper plains.
Very common in Colorado, Northern New Mexico and Western KS. Deer tend to gain advantage by running downhill and jumping. The height of the fence is partially a psychological deterent and shorter fences have snared deer/ broken limbs. Come over here and see our one-way sheep jumps that go with the fences…
Assume the fences are largely woven wire.
You can go along miles of fence here without seeing a single deer, then you get to the end of the fence and you see a deer convention.
…and the antelope can go between the wire of a 5 strand barbed wire fence at a dead run. Wild to watch.
The only way a wire fence would be a snow fence would be if it was clogged with tumbleweeds and other detritus.
On interstate highways, methinks the fence is more to delineate the “property line” than anything else (and thus serve as a warning of sorts to pedestrians). As noted, they aren’t high enough (or tight enough) to discourage wildlife from passing.
Local deer farms usually have an 8 to 10 foot fence around them.
Deer can clear fences several times taller than they are. They just don’t like it, and they have to be able to see what’s on the other side. If you use a link fence, you’ll need at least 10 feet, but if you use cedar planks or cedar strip lattice that is difficult for them to see through, you can use fences as low as 5’ because they can’t see over them and won’t land in ‘unkown territory’ by choice. Also, the deer I know around here are just as apt to slither under fences on their bellies, or on their sides as to try to jump them. Seen it often.
We have lots of deer on Vancouver Island. You should see them do their bounding lope when they need to get distance between them and something they feel is a threat. Jumping vertically at a terrified run is a sight to behold. The only thing that can outjump them vertically on the Island is their main Nemesis on four legs, and that is the cougar. The cougar can jump up embankments as high as 12 feet from a standstill, and straight up.
You must have giraffes or giant elk if you need a fence as high as you state, Norris. [:|]
You were Seeing a Pronghorn fence. Those things can JUMP and I mean JUMP. Not just run Fast had one of my buddies say he has seen them Clear Semis at a full gallop when they run. Also Fences that High will Stop a Herd of Bison from Charging thru them and 4K lbs of Mad Animal will do some Damage to Engine.
Out in Wyoming where the Elk Play the Fences that line the Interstates are over 15 Ft tall in spots that should give you an Idea of how High one of those Big Boys can leap. When you see the Fence is that high Worry about what they are tiring to KEEP IN.
I’ve never seen an antelope go through a barbed wire fence at speed, but I have seen them go under a fence at warp speed. Imagine an antelope sliding into home, going under the fence, then popping back up, without losing any speed.
You may be thinking of a different area. Pronghorns (antelope in local parlance) are very, very rare in that area, and bison (buffalo) herds have been gone for a hundred years from that area.