Small Mammals

Mammal Species

Small mammals wander in search of food, when looking for mates, as they disperse after the breeding season, and when seeking hibernation sites. Mortality is high on roads, railroads, and construction sites. In 1993, for example, 25 schools in New England participated in a road-kill study which recorded 1,923 animal deaths, of which 81% were mammals. If the estimate of 1 million animals killed daily on American roads is roughly accurate, several hundred thousand of these will be mammals. The additional number of those killed on construction sites has not been quantified, but machinery, heavy plant, trenches, and pipework are all major hazards for small mammals, which may become trapped or injured, or be killed.

It is the responsibility of planning engineers to reduce the ecological impact construction sites and roads have and employ mitigation measures as tools in ecological conservation. Fencing, along with other mitigation measures such as tunnels, has been shown to reduce mortality without disrupting the animals’ life cycle, but it has to be the right kind of fencing or small mammals will climb over it or find their way through it.

Additionally, there are many situations where farmers or horticulturists may wish to exclude mammals from their crops, hence the need for effective exclusion fencing.

Fencing can also be used to aid population assessment before the development of new construction sites.