Canada just can’t stop Moose licking cars and it’s actually a problem

Canada is an incredible country. From gorgeous mountain ranges to breathtaking scenery and diverse wildlife. Unfortunately, that wildlife can also cause problems, as this unusual and hilarious road traffic issue has proven.

When you think of moose, most people consider them to be timid, occasionally daft creatures. Well, it seems that’s no longer the case, as these unfortunate motorists in Canada have discovered.

With winter setting in and temperatures dropping below freezing, highways are beginning to be salted in preparation for those cold winter mornings. While it keeps motorists safe, this salt also has an unusual side effect – it attracts the local moose population.

Moose are licking parked cars in Canada

Twitter: sandilou34

Apparently the local moose population is attracted to the salt that covers cars in the winter.

Because the salt from the roads naturally sprays up onto the bodywork of a car as it drives, it ends up coating the vehicle in a salty slush. While it’s well-known that it’s bad for a car to be covered in salt (it causes rust) it also appears to attract the local wildlife.

Moose are seemingly attracted to these salty vehicles. This has resulted in a number of Twitter users posting to their accounts about strange encounters with Moose apparently trying to ‘eat’ their vehicles.

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There are a number of problems with this admittedly hilarious situation, though. The obvious issue is that the Moose are likely to damage the car while enjoying its salty coating, by scratching it with their antlers or teeth. This has the potential to cause thousands of dollars worth of damage, and some ‘interesting discussions’ with car ownership companies, as one Twitter user put it.

Hilarious warning signs

Not only that, but there is also a wider impact on the environment. If enough Moose learn this behavior and begin to see cars as a source of food (despite having no nutritional content) they could become attracted to vehicles, rather than running away from them.

In countries such as Canada, these animals present a major hazard while driving, as they are large, unpredictable, and have the potential to cause irreversible damage to vehicles. If they suddenly become non-afraid of cars, they may stop trying to move away from them on busy roads.

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Of course, the local road agencies in Alberta, Canada couldn’t just sit by and watch. They’ve rolled out unusual warning signs to alert motorists to the situation, but it’s such an unusual situation that the signs almost look like an April fools’ prank.

Beyond the strangely dystopian nature of the warnings, there is a big issue here. Hopefully, 2020’s next big issue isn’t the great salt-fuelled moose rampage.