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'Try not to let moose lick your car,' warns Parks Canada, as more moose flock to highways

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.”

dan1101 ,

Better yet quit covering the roads with salt, which corrodes vehicles and is bad for waterways.

Zaderade ,

I agree with you but what are they going to use to keep roads from being lethal in certain winter conditions?

girlfreddy OP ,
@girlfreddy@lemmy.ca avatar

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.

I_Has_A_Hat ,

Alfalfa Meal and Coffee Grounds - can only be used in moderation due to their high nitrogen content which would fuck up waterways way more than salt.

Beet Juice - not nearly as effective as salt

Grape Skin - still in testing, no where near close to market, unknown ecological impacts

Brine - has the same problem as salt because that’s essentially what it is

Manual removal - are you fucking kidding me?

Salt is the best we have, and the alternatives aren’t just less economical, they’re also just plain unfeasible.

girlfreddy OP ,
@girlfreddy@lemmy.ca avatar

With further gov’t-funded research I’m sure we could find more alternatives.

emeralddawn45 ,

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.

Aux ,

Salt is the most effective and less damaging treatment for icy roads.

wewbull ,

A moose once licked my sister.

hexabs ,

But he hardly knew her!

namingthingsiseasy ,

Møøse licks can be nasty, you know…

Sludgehammer ,
@Sludgehammer@lemmy.world avatar

I’d be interested to hear how your supposed to stop the moose once it’s decided its going to lick your car.

girlfreddy OP , (edited )
@girlfreddy@lemmy.ca avatar

I think Parks Canada is saying cars shouldn’t stop if/when they see moose either on or beside the road.

Doing 15-20 kms per hr going past them should be enough to deter the moose from licking the vehicle while in the middle of the highway.

Jaggle ,

This isn’t world news

boomer478 ,

Oh man, there’s a lot of people in Canada about to be real upset to find out they’re not part of the world anymore.

tygerprints ,

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.

Buddahriffic ,

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.

tygerprints ,

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.

OpticalMoose ,
@OpticalMoose@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

Feeling called out by this. I mean those cars are tasty.

girlfreddy OP ,
@girlfreddy@lemmy.ca avatar

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.

bzarb8ni ,

Agreed. Not only are moose drawn to the roadside, but we’re salinating our lakes and rivers 🫤

autotldr Bot ,

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.

The original article contains 553 words, the summary contains 159 words. Saved 71%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

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