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Pumas are drivers’ guardian angels

The Editorial Team

August 6, 2026

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

06 August 2026

Vehicles are less likely to smash into deer on the road where the big cats are on patrol.

A puma crosses a grey gravel road. — Deer living in the presence of pumas (Puma concolor) might favour the daytime, reducing the number of nocturnal collisions with vehicles. Credit: Nicolás Lagos, Panthera

The puma, or cougar (Puma concolor), is an indirect friend to humankind, according to a study conducted on Washington’s beautiful, mossy Olympic Peninsula. Vehicle collisions with deer can injure or even kill people, but Justin Suraci at Conservation Science Partners in Truckee, California, and his colleagues found that drivers are less likely to hit a deer on the road in places where pumas are present1.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-02429-0

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