I keep trying to learn more about axis whenever I see them. I watched a bunch go through an old cross fence on my place. They went through a hole and there is an open gap (gate width) within 20 yards. It does have an overhead twisted wire holding the main posts together. I opened it when I bought the place a couple of years ago. At another spot, a good fence meets a pitiful old property line fence. They are going through a hole at the corner post, but the fence is so old, 10 feet away there is a section about 2 feet tall that they could step over. I've watched them on another property worry themselves to death before they'd jump a good low fence.

What gives? Old, established trails that they use out of habit? A terror of having anything ever touch their bellies? They kind of remind me of sheep when they're following each other. I keep expecting one to jump for no reason and the others follow suit.

And yes, I need to replace some fences, but there's enough German in me to at least wait until the neighbor calls about it. Sometimes the eagle claws at my wallet when I pull a dollar out

Some critters just don’t like to jump stuff, even though they are absolutely capable of it. I’m sure if something was chasing them, they would have no issue clearing a fence. Pronghorn are the same way.

You have to put signs up directing them to the correct crossing location.

Axis normally do not like to jump....normally they will run along a fence line till they find an opening or gate to cross thru. Most deer do not like to jump when they can go under or thru a hole in a fence. I know that animals will use the same trails or travel routes that have been used forever. I put up a new 47" net wire fence and had hogs using the same trail 9 yrs later. I had one larger old boar that would come through every so often. He used that trail and when I put up the net wire fence he just ducked his head and went under it. He stretched the wire in that spot. I put a t-post in to hold the fence down where he had stretched the fence going under it and he still ripped the t-post up(16-18" deep in wet ground) going under the fence. I put a bullet him one evening when I caught him in a food plot.

For most of my life I hunted two properties in the hillcountry, all fences were net wire with barb on top and bottom because the owners ran some form of sheep/goats. Deer on those properties were so used to and accustomed to fence jumping they never batted an eye at it. They would jump into/out of anything tiny feed pens with 5 foot fences etc. Move to our place down south and the deer will jump into feed pens, but I can step over the fence. For sure they are not conditioned to jumping fences like the hillcountry deer.

I have seen an Axis buck, about 250 lbs, jump an 8' game fence in a single bound from a squatted jump, not running.

He paced that fence for about a 30 yard span several times. He was smelling the Does in heat on the other side.

I never will forget the first time I hunted south Texas and watched a decent sized buck run full speed and slide/go under a fence. Really cool looking but still can’t figure out why he didn’t just jump.

and I offered to pay for them

I watched one of the TPWD TV show episodes where this characteristic of Axis was covered quite well, and how biologists were working with landowners on solutions that allowed Axis to roam more freely. But to be honest, I don't remember what the biologists had recommended to landowners. Yes, it's hell to get old.

I don't want them to roam more freely. I want to be able to channel them where I want to "whack 'em and stack 'em". I will be placing Château Débrix (my restoration project blind...pictures soon) at the first nexus, mentioned in the OP.

Most like to find low spot

WEIRD TASTY CRITTERS

As most have said, I have watched large herds, once alerted, scramble in file to basically go back the way they came, much the same as bovines do. If not alerted they will begin to move single file to the next grazing area.

My brother has a HF place and oddly his deer do not know how to jump. There are no cross fences for them to have to cross/jump to roam the place. They live their entire life never having to jump a fence.
A sudden flood about four years ago took down about 200ft of the fence. When I drove up there were 8 whitetail that had walked right across the downed fence and out onto the side of the road. I stopped hoping they would return but I had already alerted them, and they started running down the road. I watched hoping there was something that I could do to shoo them back but there was no way around them. I finally gave up and drove toward them to get to the ranch gate. As expected, they scattered and started slamming into the cattle fences on each side of the road, these fences were only 42-48" tall, barbed wire fences. I back off again and watched them run back and forth injuring themselves on the short fences that they would not jump. They eventually found holes and ducked under them and moved on.
I agree that a deer would rather go under than over a fence. I think we have trained them otherwise.
How a deer in this atmosphere could ever clear an 8ft fence seems impossible. I hear of it, but I have never seen a video or seen it myself.
But I have seen deer (whitetail and axis) that hop cattle fences all the time slam into a high fence when pressured, only leaping about 4ft (maybe 5ft) in the failed attempt.

I have always believed a deer’s depth perception is not even close to ours or any other predator. It is as if their view is more two dimensional than three dimensional. I have had deer look right through me when elevated in a tree. A coyote nailed me in the same location in a split second. Total recognition.

I have witnessed deer inexplicably slamming into fences many times, over and over, with one mature buck getting trapped on it. I have also seen a WT buck easily clear an 8 foot fence on the other side of the same pasture.

If I don't forget I will take a couple of pictures of what axis bucks do to new high tensile strength fences.

What axis do to a new good fence.

Good lord Don. Coyotes do not have to dig in with that kind of holes in your fence.