A notorious predator may be responsible for making California\u2019s roads safer.<\/p>\n
In a new study published this week in Current Biology<\/a>, researchers found that the odds of a vehicle colliding with a deer shrank by 67% in areas where mountain lions<\/a> are found.<\/p>\n Researchers suggest that the presence of mountain lions, also known as pumas or cougars, causes deer to avoid roads and move into more remote areas.<\/p>\n Mountain lions drive deer away from roads and into more remote areas, researchers say. MDBPIXS \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n \u201cWe found that large carnivores can make roadways safer through their effects on prey behavior and space use,\u201d lead author of the study Justin Suraci of Conservation Science Partners in Truckee, California, said in a press release.<\/p>\n \u201cDeer alter their use of both space and time where pumas are present, overlapping less with roads and reducing activity at night, when some of the most dangerous collisions occur,\u201d said Suraci. \u201cIncreased road safety thus represents an ecosystem service that large predators like pumas can provide to human communities.\u201d<\/p>\n A 2024 report<\/a> from the road ecology center at UC Davis estimated that drivers hit up to 100,000 deer each year on California\u2019s roads. <\/p>\n The study found that the presence of mountain lions, who are found throughout the western US, causes deer to be more active during the day, making them 86% more likely to occupy remote areas away from roads. The result is a 76% drop in the total expected number of collisions over a 5-year period where mountain lions are present.<\/p>\n To conduct the study, researchers analyzed camera trap data from 503 locations and tracked GPS collar data from around 60 pumas across the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.<\/p>\n Drivers across California hit up to 100,000 deer each year. Carol Hamilton \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we talk about pumas, we often focus on the risks they pose,\u201d Mark\u00a0Elbroch, an ecologist for Panthera and a study author, said in a press release. \u201cBut we rarely stop to consider the many ways they benefit us as well. Living alongside large carnivores isn\u2019t simply about protecting wildlife; it\u2019s about protecting the many ways they quietly benefit us every day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Though the study was conducted in Washington, Suraci told SFGATE<\/a> he expects similar results across mountain lion habitat. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The feared predator<\/a> may be driving deer away from roads, but drivers pose a threat to mountain lions as well. Earlier this year, the species was listed as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act<\/a>, in part due to vehicle strikes.<\/p>\n Interventions like wildlife crossing tunnels can make roads safer for both animals and drivers. lunamarina \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n \u201cHabitat loss, habitat fragmentation by roads, freeways and housing, and mortality from vehicle strikes, rodenticides and risks of isolation and inbreeding would lead to the extinction of these mountain lions if we remained on the same trajectory,\u201d said President Eric Sklar in a February press release.<\/p>\n