How living near mountain lions might actually make you safer<\/p>\n
Mountain lions (also known as cougars or pumas) make roads safer by scaring deer and elk that can cause collisions with cars into more remote areas<\/p>\n
By Gennaro Tomma edited by Andrea Thompson<\/p>\n
Hearing the roar of a mountain lion in the distance while you\u2019re just outside your house might sound scary. Yet living in an area inhabited by these large predators might actually make you safer.<\/p>\n
New large-scale research shows that the presence of mountain lions, also known as pumas or cougars, can drastically decrease the number of potentially deadly collisions between deer and vehicles by changing the behavior of their prey.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not easy to live alongside large carnivores, and they are often implicated in conflicts with people,\u201d says Kaitlyn Gaynor, a wildlife ecologist at the University of British Columbia, who wasn\u2019t involved in the new research. \u201cBut this study shows that carnivores can actually reduce conflicts with their prey species, often through complex ecological pathways.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Every year in the U.S., deer are involved in more than 1.5 million collisions with vehicles, resulting in the death of more than 200 people, tens of thousands of injuries and billions of dollars in damages.<\/p>\n
The team of scientists behind the new study, published on Wednesday in Current Biology, wanted to see whether pumas could play a role in decreasing those numbers.<\/p>\n
The researchers analyzed data from 503 camera traps and 59 GPS collars tracking pumas\u2019 presence in Washington State\u2019s Olympic Peninsula between 2020 and 2025. They also looked at data on the distribution and behavior of black-tailed deer and elk in the landscape and on collisions between vehicles and the animals. In those five years, the deer and elk were involved in more than 950 collisions with vehicles on the peninsula, which resulted in two human\u2019s deaths and more than 80 injuries.<\/p>\n
The analysis showed that a high presence of pumas led to a 76 percent reduction in deer-vehicle collisions compared with areas where pumas\u2019 presence was lower.<\/p>\n
The reduction wasn\u2019t because pumas were preying on the deer and reducing their overall numbers. Rather it resulted from the mountain lions instilling fear in the deer, which shaped how the prey animals moved in the landscape.<\/p>\n
The presence of pumas pushed deer into more remote areas, making them 15 percent less likely to be in areas with many roads. That might be because they can find cover from predators in the more abundant vegetation in those remote areas, says study co-author Mark Elbroch, a mountain lion biologist and director of the Puma Program at Panthera, a conservation organization. Pumas also led deer to stay more active during the day rather than at night, which is when the predators are most active. Drivers might also be better able to see the deer and avoid collisions during daylight, Elbroch says.<\/p>\n
Though coexistence between pumas and humans can be challenging, Elbroch hopes this kind of research can highlight how large predators can bring benefits to human communities that live alongside them, especially in light of the predators\u2019 natural expansion and possible reintroductions. \u201cI hope that it helps people be more tolerant of living alongside these animals when they realize that there is tremendous value in having them live alongside us,\u201d he says. \u201cThey're saving lives. They\u2019re reducing damage to infrastructure. They\u2019re saving millions of dollars just in our place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gennaro Tomma is a freelance journalist who covers science, with a focus on the natural world, biodiversity, conservation, climate change, environmental and science-related policies, and more. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Science, National Geographic, New Scientist and other outlets. Find more on his website: https:\/\/gennarotomma.it<\/p>\n