Seasonal distribution and fencing effect for water deer and wild boar in an urban forest fringe area

Forest fragmentation and habitat loss are increasing human–wildlife
conflict. The use of fencing to reduce wildlife incursions into
agricultural areas, particularly through optimizing fence locations, is
gaining interest. However, the spatiotemporal movement patterns of animals
relative to hotspot fencing have received scant study. This study
evaluated how effectively a single fence reduces seasonal incursions into
an agricultural zone by crop-damaging mammals. The seasonal distributions
of wild boar (Sus scrofa Linnaeus) and water deer (Hydropotes inermis
argyropus) were evaluated, along with the effect of a short fence on their
spatial behavior at a junction of a forest fringe and fields during
different seasons. Seasonal habitat suitability models were constructed
using unmanned aerial vehicle and camera trap data for the environmental
predictor variables. Connectivity analysis utilizing habitat suitability
models was applied to assess the effects of fencing on wildlife. The
seasonal movements of water deer and wild boar were found to be primarily
constrained by trails and roads, while fencing was the most important
variable for wild boar following fence erection. The fencing effect was
evaluated using a connectivity model, which showed increases of 65.5% for
wild boar and 100.9% for water deer from the growing season to the harvest
season. However, a high permeability area of wild boar disappeared at the
fencing location, while that of the water deer was maintained. This
suggests that properly designed fencing, based on the behavior of target
species, can significantly reduce their incursions. Knowledge of the
fencing effects in fragmented areas may help allocate local and regional
management resources to solve coexistence challenges and establish
wildlife conservation strategies.