Elimination of Electrocution Threat to Non-Human Primates in Costa Rica: A “Solved” Problem?
April 3, 2023
John Bailey, a colleague of mine from Bozeman, Montana recently expressed his concern to me over the high rate of electrocution of primates living in Costa Rica and asked what might be done from an engineering approach.
Thinking back to my time in academia at MIT, UMich, Drexel and UMT, and how to even categorize the problem of how to prevent electrocution of an animal that frequently travels by climbing, grasping, and swinging, I realized that this problem falls into a category of problems that engineers refer to as “solved problems.” Examples of solved problems include intercontinental communication, spaceflight, and indoor plumbing. There is no urgent need to invent new ways to enable Europeans and Americans to have a synchronous conversation, to orbit the earth in a spacecraft, or to grin and bear the outdoor elements when nature calls. These
are all solved problems.
The solution to preventing electrocution of our climbing cousins also exists: buried power lines. Buried power lines will not only obviate the issue of electrocution but create a more resilient infrastructure in Costa Rica as recently evidenced by Florida neighborhoods that remained intact in the wake of Hurricane Ian due to their buried electrical infrastructure. So rather than permitting new overhead, primate-accessible electrical powerlines, the officials in Costa Rica must adopt policies that do not permit such structures. That is the solution.
The only remaining hurdle then to preventing further electrocutions then is effective communication, policymaking, and enforcement of codes that do not allow the construction of vulnerable, unsightly, and deadly electrical infrastructure in Costa Rica.
Bradley Layton is a licensed Professional Engineer and biomedical engineering expert witness who lives in Missoula, Montana and practices engineering internationally.
Further Reading
Cunneyworth and Slade (2021) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10764-020-00194-z
Diaz (2021) https://earth.org/wildlife-bridges-animal-electrocution-costa-rica
IARCR (2023) https://www.iarcostarica.org/stop-the-shocks
