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.

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

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