Puma kittens linger by a road.

California drivers hit as many as 100,000 deer each year by some estimates. Without wild cats, that tally could be even larger, according to new research.

In a study published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology, scientists found that the odds of a vehicle colliding with deer shrank by 67% in areas where mountain lions roam.

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To explain this phenomenon, the researchers reason that the lions have a hunting advantage at forest edges, where trees meet a field or road; to avoid their lurking predators in these places, deer move into more remote habitat.

“When we talk about pumas, we often focus on the risks they pose. But we rarely stop to consider the many ways they benefit us as well,” Mark Elbroch, an ecologist for Panthera and a study author, said in a statement. “Living alongside large carnivores isn’t simply about protecting wildlife; it’s about protecting the many ways they........

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