Lynne Hull Puente Monos (treetop monkey bridge)
 
 


Lynne Hull Puente Monos (treetop monkey bridge), 1998, Punta Laguna, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Working with Mayans living in a Yucatan forest, Hull designed this bridge to enable spider monkeys in a natural preserve to cross a road without being frightened by cars, people, and dogs. Using machetes, the Mayans swiftly cut the lightest, but strongest tree branches with shapes Hull admired. They then used nylon cord to tie the branches together and suspended them like a hammock. The monkeys’ preservation is crucial both to sustain biodiversity and to attract eco-tourist income. Unfortunately, the biologist originally committed to this project abandoned it. Hull speculates that the reason the monkeys don’t use this bridge is because they may not trust the structure. This project might have worked better had the biologist remained involved.32

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