tuxette's Journal: moose news

Moose taste test road salt

Sweden's road administration wants moose opinion before deciding what road salt to switch to.

A series of studies in Sweden, Finland and Canada reveal that wildlife are drawn to roads in order to try and lick road salt, Swedish news agency TT reports. Swedish road authorities will now try to choose a salt that does not tempt animals to risk heavy traffic, as well as use a type that is more environmentally friendly.

Moose at Skansen in Stockholm will taste varieties, and will first get a choice between the current salt in use and one with a higher sugar content. Reindeer are also 'participating' in the taste test.

If the new, sweeter variety is not less popular, then the roads administration will have to assess other possibilities.

"Then we will sit down and have a think," said Göran Gabrielsson, a technician for the Swedish roads administration.

Norway also has problems with traffic accidents involving wildlife, but not to the same degree as in Sweden.

"We have long known that salt and Cervidae (the deer family) is a bad combination, but this is seen as a relatively minor traffic safety problem in Norway," said Bjørn Iuell, a biologist and engineer at Norway's Public Roads Directorate.

At least 1300-1500 moose are killed in traffic every year, and Iuell believes the total could be twice as high since not all collisions are reported. For roe deer the numbers are at least twice as high again. Although the problem costs around NOK 250 million (USD 41.5 million) a year, it is not a priority, but reducing salt use on roads is an environmental concern.

But a new Public Roads Administration project in 2008 and 2009 will reexamine the links between salt and animal collisions and other measures that can protect wildlife from traffic. Iuell said that the extensive salting of Norwegian roads would make it difficult to draw conclusions.

"We have a good cooperation with the Swedish Public Roads Administration, also environmentally, and we will monitor the Swedish findings," Iuell said.

1300-1500

[stoolpigeon]

That blows my mind. I can't imagine the size of a population that can sustain those kinds of losses. I know you post about moose all the time, and I knew there were quite a few of them up there, but really I don't think I grasped it all. Amazing.

Re:

[tuxette]

Yeah... there are a lot of them. At the place where I lived as a student, you would sometimes see them wandering about very early in the morning, and this was in Oslo! (OK, pretty much in the woods, but still...)