{"id":3514,"date":"2025-02-20T15:54:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T15:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/20\/a-conservationist-is-building-bridges-in-the-amazon-so-monkeys-can-cross-the-road\/"},"modified":"2025-02-20T15:54:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T15:54:53","slug":"a-conservationist-is-building-bridges-in-the-amazon-so-monkeys-can-cross-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/20\/a-conservationist-is-building-bridges-in-the-amazon-so-monkeys-can-cross-the-road\/","title":{"rendered":"A conservationist is building bridges in the Amazon so monkeys can cross the road"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77kng7e00cv26ny2b4y0dvo@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The first time Brazilian biologist Fernanda Abra saw a Groves\u2019 titi monkey, one of the most 25 endangered primates in the world, it was positioned right next to a road.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l00023b6m8fdpm1da@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cIt was totally exposed to road mortality,\u201d recalls Abra.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l00033b6mj7zpvgd4@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Although figures vary wildly, by some estimates, 475 million vertebrate animals are killed by vehicles every year in the South American country, which is home to the world\u2019s fourth biggest road network, and the Amazon rainforest.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l00043b6mpa5h5e57@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            It\u2019s a problem that Abra, who is a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian\u2019s Center for Conservation and Sustainability, Conservation Biology Institute, has been trying to solve by building bridges at the canopy level, so tree-dwelling species can safely traverse roadways.    <\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery-inline gallery--hidden\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/gallery-inline\/instances\/cm7a30tab00023b6mxoop2j1b@published\" data-headline=\"Wildlife crossings around the world\" data-analytics-enabled=\"true\" data-analytics-aggregate-events=\"true\" data-component-name=\"gallery-inline\" data-component-variation=\"gallery-inline\" data-edit-mode=\"\" data-items-layout=\"grid\">\n<div class=\"gallery-inline__main\">\n<div class=\"gallery-inline__container\">\n<div class=\"gallery-inline__slides\" data-editable=\"slides\" data-reorderable-component=\"slides\">                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<p>        <button aria-controls=\"imageGallerySlideWrapper\" aria-label=\"view previous image\" class=\"gallery-inline__prev-overlay\" data-analytics-prop-click-action=\"button-previous-image\"><\/button>        <button aria-controls=\"imageGallerySlideWrapper\" aria-label=\"view next image\" class=\"gallery-inline__next-overlay\" data-analytics-prop-click-action=\"button-next-image\"><\/button>      <\/div>\n<h5 class=\"gallery-inline__headline\">Wildlife crossings around the world<\/h5>\n<div class=\"gallery-inline__counter\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-inline__controls\">        <button aria-controls=\"imageGallerySlideWrapper\" aria-label=\"view previous image\" class=\"gallery-inline__prev\" data-analytics-prop-click-action=\"button-previous-image\">          Prev                  <\/button>        <button aria-controls=\"imageGallerySlideWrapper\" aria-label=\"view next image\" class=\"gallery-inline__next\" data-analytics-prop-click-action=\"button-next-image\">          Next                  <\/button>      <\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l00053b6mzhnekue5@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Working with local partners including the indigenous Waimiri-Atroari people, who hold important knowledge about the wildlife in their territory in the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Roraima, Abra\u2019s Reconecta Project has built more than 30 canopy crossings on the BR-174, a 3,300-kilometer (2,000-mile) highway slicing through the Amazon. In 2024, she was among the winners of the Whitley Fund for Nature Award, which celebrates grassroots conservationists, for her efforts.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l00063b6mh8xiere5@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Abra hopes the structures can help turn things around for some of Brazil\u2019s vulnerable and endangered species, like the Groves\u2019 titi, the Schneider\u2019s marmoset, and the Guiana Spider Monkey.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l00073b6m7dblmfqq@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Each bridge is fitted with cameras to monitor the animals using it, and those that approach it but turn away, so the structure can be redesigned to convince critters to cross.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l00083b6m1g6hqtpj@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cEvery time I see the video of the monkey using my canopy bridge, it\u2019s wonderful because we are avoiding the situation of road mortality,\u201d says Abra.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l00093b6ma0wznhxh@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Reconnecting fragments of forest that have been cut apart by human-built infrastructure can have other benefits, like giving animals access to more food resources and potential mates.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l000a3b6mbtjibfyz@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cConnecting the population, we can make it stronger and allow it to grow,\u201d says Abra.    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/interactive-video\/instances\/cm7ary9y000013b6mdhnsui4o@published\" class=\"interactive-video\" data-component-name=\"interactive-video\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"interactive-video__container \">            <video class=\"interactive-video__player\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" autoplay=\"\" playsinline=\"\"><\/video>        <\/div>\n<div class=\"interactive-video__metadata\">\n<div class=\"interactive-video__caption\">                <span data-editable=\"metaCaption\" class=\"inline-placeholder\">Camera-trap footage showing a primate using a Reconecta Project canopy crossing.<\/span><figcaption class=\"interactive-video__credit\">Reconecta Project<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l000b3b6m4lytbrxp@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            That could be crucial as Brazil builds more roads. In 2023, Brazil\u2019s president Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva\u202fannounced plans to spend almost $200 billion on infrastructure, including new highways.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l000c3b6md91j96qv@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Similar approaches are being put into use across the world. In California, an overpass is under construction above the 10-lane 101 Freeway, that will provide safe passage for animals like mountain lions, coyotes and bobcats.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l000d3b6ms2dh35dr@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Abra also has plans for growth. The Reconecta Project is now expanding in Alta Floresta, a city in the west-central state of Mato Grosso, where she\u2019s engaging officials from various government departments and representatives from non-profits and universities, she says. The canopy bridges will be supplemented with measures like speed bumps to slow down traffic and wildlife crossing signs to alert motorists.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm77koa1l000e3b6ms6hgdonw@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            She hopes to eventually expand to other areas in Brazil. \u201cWhat amazes me about Brazil is the richness that we have, the wonderful biodiversity we have here,\u201d says Abra, \u201cand I will do everything that I can as a person, as a professional, as a conservationist and researcher to protect this rich biodiversity.\u201d    <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div>This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first time Brazilian biologist Fernanda Abra saw a Groves\u2019 titi monkey, one of the most 25 endangered primates in the world, it was positioned right next to a road. \u201cIt was totally exposed to road mortality,\u201d recalls Abra. Although figures vary wildly, by some estimates, 475 million vertebrate animals are killed by vehicles every&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicanstradetoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}