Do Not Let Moose Lick Your Car
“Do not let moose lick your car.”
This sign greets visitors at Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada. Although the sign inspires laughter—and probably some confusion—its main purpose is to serve as a safety warning. Park officials put up several of these signs to help prevent moose from licking road salt off parked cars, because of the danger it poses to both people and moose. If a moose approaches a car and begins licking it, the driver is likely to speed off—potentially propelling a more than 800-pound (360-kilogram) animal through the windshield.
So why have moose been approaching cars? Is it because they like the music playing on the radio? Do they want some of the salty snacks you packed for your wilderness adventure? Well, sort of. Salt is an important mineral in a moose’s diet, and moose usually get their salt from mineral deposits called salt licks. These deposits are found throughout the park. But moose learned that they can get salt from a different source: cars splashed with road salt. Road salt is a clear, brittle mineral spread on roadways to melt ice or snow or to prevent their build-up in cold weather. Snow has already begun to fall at Jasper National Park, so officials have sprinkled road salt to help drivers safely maneuver icy roads.
Many park-goers either slow down or stop their cars completely, in the hopes of getting a picture of a moose. Some risk-takers even get out of their cars and pose a few feet or yards away from a moose. (There is a good chance they might also place their hands on either side of their head to resemble a moose’s antlers!) Although this might seem like a good photo opportunity, it provides a perfect opportunity for moose to lick cars.
Officials at Jasper National Park advise people to not get out of their cars to pose for pictures with moose and to keep cars out of moose-licking range. And, although a moose’s tongue is not 100 feet (30 meters) long, that distance is the park’s suggestion. If a moose does begin licking your car, there are a few things you can do. One, stay where you are. And two, pop a salty snack into your mouth—just be sure you didn’t get the salty snack from the outside of your car door.