Parks Canada is warning drivers not to stop while on highways to let moose lick their cars this winter.
The peculiar message comes as moose have been trekking onto highways to lick salt off of roads and passing vehicles, says Tracy McKay with Parks Canada.
“It does sound very funny … It’s okay to laugh at it, as long as people drive responsibly and do what’s best for the wildlife,” she said.
McKay says Parks Canada puts out a warning every winter as moose venture down to highways to fuel their salt intake.
“Unfortunately, this kind of puts [moose] at risk of being injured or killed if they get hit by a vehicle,” she said.
“Parks Canada understands that seeing those wildlife is a real highlight for a lot of people, but we ask people not to stop … so that the moose can’t get used to licking salt off of the cars.”
I’ve lived in remote Ontario areas and I can’t tell you how often I’ve come around a blind rock-cut corner only to find 4 moose 50’ ahead, kneeling in the road licking salt.
I wish we could either switch to straight sand or find an environmentally sound option vs salt.
Agreed. Not only are moose drawn to the roadside, but we’re salinating our lakes and rivers 🫤
A moose once licked my sister.
Møøse licks can be nasty, you know…
But he hardly knew her!
Feeling called out by this. I mean those cars are tasty.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The peculiar message comes as moose have been trekking onto highways to lick salt off of roads and passing vehicles, says Tracy McKay with Parks Canada.
McKay says Parks Canada puts out a warning every winter as moose venture down to highways to fuel their salt intake.
Roy Rea, an assistant professor at the University of Northern British Columbia, has been studying moose for 25 years, particularly why they come close to transportation corridors.
Rea says the large creatures search for salt in the winter because they need a lot of sodium to maintain their bodily functions.
With December and January being the darkest and often coldest months, Rea is warning drivers to be extra cautious while driving on highways.
“There’s been a few projects in various places that have tried salt alternatives, but they tend to be more expensive or they don’t work as well or both,” she said, adding the warning is a way to preserve Canada’s moose population.
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Better yet quit covering the roads with salt, which corrodes vehicles and is bad for waterways.
I agree with you but what are they going to use to keep roads from being lethal in certain winter conditions?
And that’s the problem. There are alternatives but until the feds actively push municipal/provincial gov’ts to change, they’ll just keep using salt or liquid saline solutions.
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I just saw another thread where someone said they use sodium formate because it doesn’t fuck up their cars or concrete and is safer for their dogs. I haven’t looked deeply into it though.
With further gov’t-funded research I’m sure we could find more alternatives.
Salt is the most effective and less damaging treatment for icy roads.
This might be a crazy idea, but has the Canadian government tried putting out troughs filled with salt, so the moose stop going to the roads as much? There’s got to be all kinds of crap in the road salt (particles of rubber and metal at least, settled exhaust particulates, etc) that’s bad for the animals, and probably much more concentrated than usual because they’re licking the asphalt too.
It’d probably come with its own set of problems, of course, but I’m not sure they’re be worse than the existing ones.
That’s always good advice, about not letting moose lick your car - if moose are licking your car, it may be sign you’re approaching a bit too close. Once at yellowstone I was driving to the campground and a bison walked up to my car and stood there blocking the passenger door. It was close enough to feel it brushing the side of the car. And there’s not much you can do but let it do whatever it’s gonna do.
You need to loudly state that you do not consent to the animal licking your car (or standing in your door’s personal space). Then they either get the idea and move on, ignore you, or go into a vicious rage.
Or just stomp on you and make you into a pancake. I don’t think anyone should really ever get that close to a wild animal on purpose, sometimes it happens but you just don’t know what that animal will do. Especially with bison or moose - keep your distance if possible.
