How High Can Deer Jump?

Many people who live around the deer population will tell you that deer is an attractive animal. What they will also tell you is the tendency of deer to jump over fences. It makes many people wonder just how high a deer can jump. To be as accurate as possible is near impossible, but the average healthy deer can jump as high as 5 to 8 feet high. 

If you have ever seen a deer run then you know it can leap very high. There are many reasons why a deer sometimes finds itself on the other side of your fence. If you have vegetation and flowers in your home, these can be some of the reasons that lure deer near you. You may want to keep deer out and for that, you need the right kind of fence.

Hence it is important to erect the kind of fence that is suitable for your surroundings. Before we delve into the matter of fencing, let us first understand why deer needs to jump at all. 

As we all understand deer can make a jump over 5 to 8 feet. But height is one thing, so we must also ask; 

What Is the Length of a Deer Jump? 

It is even amazing how far a deer can leap with a single jump. While some deer can jump as high as 5-8 feet the long jump is around 30 feet in a single jump. It is quite impressive and an adaptation for the deer. The question that follows is however fact-finding.  

Do deer just see a fence and Jump? What makes deer jump over fences? 

The high-jumping question of deer is not entirely difficult to answer. Because the gardeners and ranchers want to keep the deer out or in. And like humans, deer is a curious animal that tends to be efficient in the use of their energy. Hence the fence may just deter a deer from jumping over your fence.

How Does Deer Species Influence Deer Jump? 

One thing we can be sure of is that the length and height of deer jump will comparatively vary for the different species and subspecies of deer. Well, some deer species have recorded significant heights of up to 12 feet and even reach as far across as 30 feet. 

Therefore, jump height and distance vary across the different breeds of deer. See the difference below. 

How High Does a Whitetail Deer Jump?

Some studies reveal cases of the whitetail deer having jumped between six and eight feet high from a static position. From a running position, the whitetail deer can reach even greater heights. Experts lean towards 12 feet high jumps.  

How High Does a Mule Deer Jump?

Mule deer is quite agile and has a strong presence in North-America, especially in the United States southwest. You can expect the mule deer to at least clear 3 feet jump from a static position. But with the advantage of distance in the run, the mule deer can jump across at least clear 15 feet distance with relative ease. Hence it is advisable to also consider the mule deer when erecting your fence.

How High Does a Baby Deer Jump?

Baby deer are called fawn and before it attains two months, they can hardly jump high. Fawns have more hops than runs but once they gain strength in their feet they can jump as high as four feet. Therefore, to keep fawn away, you should consider a 5 feet fence. 

How High Does a Roe Deer Jump?

Roe deer is the deer that is found all over Europe hence the name European or western roe deer. An adult roe deer is not as agile as both the mule deer and whitetail deer but can easily jump over a 5 feet fence and reach a jump distance of 10-15 feet. 

How High Does a Black-tailed Deer Jump?

The black-tail deer is not as familiar to people as the whitetail deer. It is because the black-tail deer is a subspecies of the mule deer. However, most people consider the black-tail deer to be a species. The black-tail deer is also a good jumper and can easily jump over five feet as well and reach a jump distance of about 10-15 feet.

How High Does a Fallow Deer Jump?

Fallow deer is a common species of deer found in both Europe, Latin America, and some parts of the United States. They are just as capable of jumping as high as the other species of the deer family.

Fallow deer can jump over a 6-8 feet fence and also record jump distances of 12 to 15 feet comfortably. 

How High Does a Muntjac Deer Jump?

The muntjac deer is a rather focused and serious species of the deer family. Sometimes instead of jumping over fences, it can dig its way under one. When it jumps, it can reach five high and a jump distance of 10 feet.

How High Does a Red Deer Jump?

The red deer is beautiful but rare to see one. Hunters often get delighted at the sight of one. They are as agile as the rest of the deer family and can easily jump clear over a six feet fence with ease and attain a jump distance of over 10 feet.

Factors to Consider when Selecting a Deer Fence

To deal with the deer problem is simple. All you need is a fence as the perfect solution. There are many benefits of erecting the fence besides preventing deer from devouring your plants and vegetation. A sinister motivation is deer control as well as facilitation of health. 

Deer are hosts to ticks that can cause Lyme disease to humans and hence make you and your family sick. As you know, there is no means to ensure that you spray all the deer population to rid you of the tick problem and keep the deer. The solution is erecting a fence. The following is what you should know.

Fence Height

Deer run very fast and also jump so high. Because it is an agile and athletic animal, you should consider erecting a fence that can deter it from jumping over to your property. So, how high does a fence need to be to keep deer out? We have established that an average deer can jump over fences as high as 5-8 feet. Therefore, it only makes sense to have a structure that is slightly over eight feet.

Adrenaline can make an animal do what they have to do to ensure their safety. Sometimes you may never know the state a deer is in before it hopes over your fence. And with the right speed and motivation, I believe deer can perform over 8 feet jump.

Leave No Room for Slack

It is a mistake to assume that deer is not an intelligent animal. Sometimes instead of jumping over, if there are gaps in the fence it might just decide to push its body through. Once a deer establishes a route to easy feeding, it learns it and uses it efficiently. They can also crawl under, but you can prevent this by ensuring there is no gap between the ground and the fence.

Make Constant Repairs

The fence is what separates the deer from your compound. It must always be in top-most condition and unbreachable at all times. It defeats the purpose to raise a high fence yet one that can be breached. As mentioned, deer is a smart animal and will not jump over a fence, when it can push through.

Small Openings

A fence is a barrier that effectively keeps deer and other pests away. It is the reason a fence should be dual purpose to block other small pests besides raccoons and coyotes which can also be a nuisance. To achieve this dual-purpose state for your fence, consider erecting a high and zero, or small spaced fence. It is worth paying for a longer-lasting and effective barrier. 

Reasons That Prevent Deer from Jumping Over Fences

It is not uncommon to see a deer shying away from jumping over an item. In fact, we have an article on why do deer jump on cars, but the question at hand is why they won’t jump over structures and enclosures. Here are some reasons why deer won’t jump over fences.

Limited Vision

Deer has limited vision hence there are some colors that the deer cannot see. It acts as their blind spot and whatever lies in that end is always unknown. Whatever the deer cannot identify is a mystery and if the deer cannot pick the colors then it may just abandon its efforts to jump over your fence. 

It is more common sense as it would be jumping over to the unknown and we all know that deer faces a constant threat to its life every time in the woods. 

Safety and Self-preservation 

Deer are among the highly hunted animals among the classification of prey animals. Without hunting, the deer population would grow out of control and probably lead to environmental deprivation. Regardless of the need to hunt deer, as a prey animal, deer may not jump over the fence when it feels there is a threat from the other side. If the fence is also high and might injure it in the process is also part of a deer’s interpretation of safety.

If the deer interprets the jump as threatening it will stay put and avoid the jump.

Survival Instinct

This is quite straight-forward. It is the reverse of the subject at hand. From experience and that of others, when deer faces imminent danger, then a fence is what may separate it from its predator. To escape trouble the deer will jump over a fence. 

In as much as we know how high a deer can jump, we are yet to establish the height when a deer feels threatened. The adrenaline-packed deer might just surprise us and jump much higher and farther than the average height and distance we know them for.

Hunger

Beating hunger is part of the deer’s endeavor to stay alive and efficient. Similar to humans, deer can sometimes be low on energy, especially when they are hungry. Hunger may make deer not jump over a fence. But if the deer is sure with its opportunity to find food over the fence, then it will jump. It may use hunger as its motivation and this is why you need to have a high fence. 

Conclusion

Even though deer are fast runners and great jumpers, they will not readily jump over every fence they come across. Because deer, like other living things, have a sense of self-preservation, they only jump over fences when they need to. An eight-foot fence will require more motivation from deer to get over and is considered standard.