The Wonder of Wildlife Crossings

Brazil has more biodiversity than any other nation on Earth, but it also has more than a million miles of roads — and suffers from some of the highest rates of wildlife collisions on the planet. The crisscrossing highways fragment the remaining forest into segments too small for animals like pumas, monkeys, and sloths, which will attempt to cross the dangerous thoroughfares in search of food and mates.

Biologist Fernanda Alba and her team are establishing a network of underpasses across the country that allow big terrestrial animals to pass freely between forested segments. To date, the team has documented over 40,000 safe wildlife crossings, and has spared the lives of countless endangered species.