Highways are a threat for giant armadillos (Priodontes maximus) that underpasses can mitigate

We report 22 records of giant armadillo roadkill on Brazilian highways in the Cerrado, Pantanal and Amazon biomes illustrating that highways are a threat to this species. However, we also documented the species using underpasses, demonstrating that these structures could help to reduce the risk of roadkill for giant armadillos.

Methods
In the Pantanal and Cerrado, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, a total of 1,337 km of highways (BR-262, MS-040 and BR-267) were monitored every 2 weeks for 29 months between February 2017 and December, totaling 92,364 km. In addition, Citizen science data was also collected as regular road users were encouraged to contact the researchers to report roadkill. Information about giant armadillo roadkill was also obtained from data published in academic journals, from Environmental Military Police and from an electronic journal. In the Amazon, a giant armadillo roadkill was recorded opportunistically along the highway PA-275 highway in the Carajás National Forest.