Visitors to the Canadian National Park were greeted this weekend with an unusual digital road sign: “Don’t let Moose lick your car.”
This sign captured the imagination of the Internet and led to questions like:
“What happens if Moose licks your car?”
“Is that really a big problem?”
And, perhaps the most obvious: “How do you stop them?”
As it turned out, in the western province of Alberta, signs were put up by Jasper National Park officials to try to prevent cars from licking the road’s salt – this is a serious problem that could pose a danger to vehicles, drivers. And Moose.
Moose usually get salt, which is an important part of their diet, from salt leaks – the amount of salt and minerals scattered throughout the park, park spokesman Steve Young said in an interview Monday. But the animals discovered that they could get minerals from a car sprinkled with road salt. (It has started to snow in Jasper, and salt can help to melt the snow on the roads.)
So Moose will wander the roads leading to the 8.8 million acre park and increase the likelihood of a car crash and drivers being injured or killed.
The warning was similar to trying to stop campers from dropping food into campgrounds, like park rangers, not to encourage bears to return to the site, Mr. Young said.
“If you find a restaurant you really like, will you go back to that restaurant again?” He said. “Yes, you do. Wildlife does the same. They will go back; They will get used to it. They are more likely to lick haphazardly. If the opportunity is not there, they cannot learn to replenish their diet in this way. So we’re trying to take that opportunity away. “
Collisions can cause significant damage, Mr. Young added.
“When you have a car-moose collision, both sides lose.” “You’re putting at least an 800-pound animal in the air. They will pass through the windshield because of the way they walk. “
According to Mr. Young, there has been an increase in human-wildlife encounters in the park in recent years. Drivers taking or taking photos of animals exacerbate the issue.
He said, “What we’re seeing is that people are a little bit more boulder than wildlife because of the selfie pay generation, Instagram – people are getting a little closer to what wildlife wants.”
Mr Young emphasized that it was important to know which national park you were visiting, but to keep your distance from the animals. He said, “The more space there is between you and the wildlife, the healthier it is for them and for you.”
It is illegal to feed or disturb any wildlife in a Canadian national park, and violators can be fined up to C 25 25,000 (000 19,000).
This is not the only double-leveled advice given by Jasper National Park about human-animal relations in the last few days. Last week, the park was tweeted to warn residents not to hang Christmas lights in open spaces so they don’t get stuck in elk antlers.
Mr. Young explained that elk often roam in Jasper – a population of 4, located in the middle of 400 square miles of national park, to seek refuge from predators like the population. Their lers can be trapped in the Christmas lights on the ground.
According to Moose, drivers can stop their car from licking by staying out of the licking range. To tweet By Jasper National Park: “Rocky Moose usually leaks on cars to see Moose. Keep the moose-tongue distance forward before the moose approaches. “
How does Mr. Young define “moz-tongue distance”?
He admitted: “I don’t really know how long Moss’s tongue is.” But the park’s guidelines for how far people should stay away from animals are 30 meters or 100 feet, he said.
He acknowledged that if you find your car late at the end of the day, your options may be limited.
“Like someone whose car is licked by big horned sheep, I realize there are limited options when you park.”
“We understand that in some situations, patience can be your friend, and the safest thing you can do is stay where you are.”
