"No one wants to hit a deer. But there are 1 to 2 million deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) in the United States each year. These daily events are frequently fatal for the deer and cause millions of dollars in damage. In some cases, they can even cost people their lives. DVCs, as they’re known in academia, are some of the most dangerous encounters between wildlife and humans in the country.
While we think of predators as being dangerous, an otherwise harmless deer meandering into the road is far more likely to take you out than a bear or a wolf or a mountain lion is to stalk and eat you. Occasional news stories about pumas (Puma concolor) might suggest that they are a significant threat to humans. They are not—only around 30 deaths have been recorded since official record-keeping began in 1868.
Instead of being a major threat to human safety, research increasingly shows that large predators may be one of our best defenses against DVCs. In a paper published in August 2026 in the journal Current Biology, scientists concluded that the presence of pumas deters deer from using roadways. Specifically, they do this during the hours when DVCs are most likely to occur.
“When carnivores are present in the landscape, the prey move. They hide,” said study coauthor Mark Elbroch, who is the director of the puma program at Panthera, a wild cat conservation group. “If they know the carnivores are active at a certain time of day, they'll go there at a different time of day to minimize the risk of an encounter.”"
Richard Pallardy reports for Sierra magazine August 12, 2026.
