Project Reconecta installed eight rope bridges over a highway in a Brazilian municipality, and a 15‑month camera‑trap study recorded 15,000 safe crossings by arboreal wildlife w...
Project Reconecta installed eight rope bridges over a highway in a Brazilian municipality, and a 15‑month camera‑trap study recorded 15,000 safe crossings by arboreal wildlife with no roadkill reported. The bridges were placed to reconnect forest fragments separated by roads, a condition that often leads to wildlife mortality and reduced genetic diversity. Biologist Gabriel Falquetto observed roadkill along ES-164 highway in Espírito Santo, noting the death of a buffy‑headed marmoset, a critically endangered primate with fewer than 2,500 individuals remaining. In Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, no roadkill was recorded after eight canopy bridges were installed in 2024; camera footage showed 15,000 crossings in the following 15 months. The bridges, each equipped with two camera traps, have been used by several primate species, including the black‑faced black spider monkey, the Purus red howler monkey, the northern night monkey, the tufted capuchin, Schneider’s marmoset, and the Alta Floresta titi monkey, which is classified as critically endangered. Abra, founder of Reconecta, explained that the bridges improve connectivity and reduce roadkill, and that eight additional bridges will be installed in the urban area of Alta Floresta, pending power‑line adjustments. The design, a multilayer structure, accommodates various locomotion styles and has been used by primates as well as opossums, sloths, and mouse opossums. Use of the bridges tends to increase over time; primates began using one bridge after seven months, indicating species‑specific adaptation periods. The federal transport department designated the bridge design as the recommended national standard for highways in 2026. A bill pending in the Senate would incorporate wildlife warning signs, speed‑reduction devices, and the construction of overpasses, aerial crossings, and underpasses; if passed, the canopy bridge model could be deployed nationwide. Abra’s work has earned awards including the Whitley Award in 2024 and the Wayfinder Award in 2026; she plans to expand to Suriname and to other biomes such as the Pantanal and Atlantic Forest. Collaboration among government agencies, private companies, and local communities is considered essential for the initiative’s success.
- Publisher
- Hacker News
- Reliability
- high
- Published
- 7/26/2026, 10:00:17 AM
- Retrieved
- 7/26/2026, 10:00:17 AM
- Relevance
- 80%
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- 85%

