A SAFER WAY THROUGH THE TREETOPS
Canopy Bridges Reconnect Wildlife Habitat in Brazil’s Amazon
ㅤA road can connect communities while dividing the habitat around them. For animals that live in trees, a gap in the canopy can mean a dangerous descent into traffic—or a barrier that limits movement between patches of forest.
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In Alta Floresta, in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state, canopy bridges offer a route above the road. Rope-and-cable structures reconnect forest on opposite sides, giving tree-dwelling wildlife another way to move through its habitat.
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Encouraging results above the road
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Suzana Camargo’s reporting for Mongabay, republished by The Guardian on October 9, 2026, describes eight bridges and 15,000 recorded crossings over 15 months. No roadkill was reported during that monitoring period in the area described.
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Those figures are encouraging, but they need to be read accurately. Crossing events are not a count of distinct animals, and no recorded roadkill does not establish that every wildlife death was detected. The results support continued monitoring rather than a promise that bridges eliminate all risk.
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A crossing designed for life in the canopy
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The initiative is led by Projeto Reconecta, founded by road ecologist Fernanda Abra, with local government and other partners. Reconecta identifies two problems created by roads: animals descending into traffic, and strictly tree-dwelling species remaining separated because they avoid crossing on the ground.
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Earlier work on BR-174 tested different bridge designs with the Waimiri-Atroari Indigenous community. Community leaders helped identify locations using their knowledge of wildlife sightings and road mortality. The project selected materials with cost, local availability and wider implementation in mind.
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A Smithsonian update written by Abra explains that the Alta Floresta design combines multiple levels to accommodate different ways of moving. A structure suited to one species may not suit another; design needs to respond to the animals expected to use it.
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Threatened primates are using the crossings
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A 2025 Conservation News article in Oryx documented the programme’s early development: seven bridges installed in October 2024 and 540 recorded mammal crossings through January 2025. Users included black-capped capuchins and Schneider’s marmosets, along with rodents and marsupials.
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A subsequent Smithsonian update reported crossings by the critically endangered Alta Floresta titi monkey as well. These earlier records help establish the project’s progression; their different bridge counts and monitoring periods should not be combined with the later reporting as though they describe one survey.
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Monitoring use—and the animals that turn back
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Reconecta’s monitoring approach uses paired cameras. One faces the bridge to record use; another faces the forest to record approaching animals. That allows researchers to examine acceptance of a crossing, including approaches that do not result in an animal crossing.
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This distinction matters. Installation is only the beginning. Observations of use and avoidance can help researchers assess whether a design is suitable and where changes may be needed.
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Safety requires more than ropes
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Power lines introduce another hazard. The Smithsonian describes work with the local electricity company to lower and insulate nearby lines and add barriers intended to discourage animals from moving from bridges onto wires.
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Public participation is also part of the programme. Its early Oryx account describes wildlife-crossing signs and school-led education. These measures complement the structures by involving people who share the landscape.
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In April 2026, Brazil’s National Department of Transport Infrastructure launched guidance on wildlife protection along federal highways. It addresses crossings, fencing and signs, placing wildlife mitigation within road planning.
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On a Positive Note:
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Canopy bridges apply a principle shared by wildlife overpasses and underpasses: infrastructure can make room for animals to move through the places where they live.
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Their value extends beyond helping an animal reach the other side of a road. Reconnecting habitat can support access to food, shelter and potential mates. Maintaining those opportunities is part of protecting wildlife in the wild.
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Alta Floresta offers an encouraging example of practical conservation shaped by animal behaviour, research and community involvement. Continued monitoring can help turn promising crossings into lasting protection.
Related Reading:
“Making Room for Wildlife”
Discover how two planned wildlife overpasses near Joshua Tree National Park could reconnect fragmented habitats, reduce wildlife–vehicle collisions and help protect the movement of wild animals across California’s Mojave Desert.
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Evidence • Education • Accountability
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