Latin American countries build tree bridges for wildlife
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Across Latin America, conservation groups and communities are building aerial bridges to help animals safely cross roads and other human-made barriers.
These structures, including bridges suspended from trees and over roads, connect fragmented forests, allowing species like monkeys, sloths, and porcupines to move between habitats without risking injury or isolation. In Costa Rica, organizations are addressing high rates of primate electrocution on power lines by installing aerial crossings.
In 2024, electrocution accounted for 60% of primate accidents, causing an estimated 1000 deaths annually. The group Salve Monos has already installed over 400 elevated crossings to provide a safer route. Similar projects are underway in Peru and Brazil, where hanging bridges enable arboreal animals to navigate forest fragments. Researchers in the Peruvian Amazon used camera traps to document animals using these bridges, observing that they improve forest connectivity and reduce risks.
A six-month study in Costa Rica recorded 36 species using wildlife passages, though also documented 74 animal deaths by vehicle collision. This data is helping to establish protocols for maintaining these structures. In Brazil, a project in Alta Floresta installed eight bridges that saw 15,000 animal crossings over 15 months with no recorded collisions, and has been adopted as a national standard.
