Moose walk across a road at Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada. People often park on the side of the road in hopes of catching a glimpse of moose.
Brooks Falls in Alaska is a great place to watch the grizzly bears fish during the salmon run. This bear had caught one for his lunch. (Photo: @Burnitz)
This photo was taken while my family and I rode the root of the Hiawatha trail on the old Milwaukee railroad in northern Idaho at lookout pass ski area that rides back down into Montana on our mountain bike's. We came across this mule deer fawn and its mama. This fawn kept playing and running back and forth feeling good about life and giving me this perfect photo opportunity. (photo: @coleigh)
My wife and I were vacationing at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas and were in the Digs area (an underground water tank) I took this photo of a school of fish and just thought it looked surreal. (photo: @kevrab)
We were allowed to be with a family of 18 gorilla's in October 2015, part of our 50th Anniversary trip for over an hour! It was absolutely awesome to be within inches of these creatures. So close to humans and very curious of us too!! I even had a young gorilla hold my hand! (photo: @Ebony)
These zebras stopped in a stream for a drink but scattered about five seconds after this picture was taken as a crocodile approached. The picture was taken with a Canon EOS camera while on a safari in Tanzania. (photo: @tnel100)
JASPER, Canada — Canadian officials have an important message for drivers: “Do not let moose lick your car.”
Yes, you read that right. Officials in Jasper, an alpine town in Canada’s Alberta province, have put up signs asking motorists to avoid allowing moose to lick the salt, a treat moose find hard to resist, off their cars.
“They’re obsessed with salt, it’s one of the things they need for the minerals in their body,” Jasper National Park spokesman Steve Young told CNN. “They usually get it from salt lakes in the park, but now they realized they can also get road salt that splashes onto cars.”
At Jasper National Park, where people often park on the side of the road in hopes of catching a glimpse of the moose, letting the animals near your car is actually a serious danger, officials say.
Here’s 2016 footage of one moose encounter, filmed in Alberta, Canada:
By allowing moose to lick the salt off your car, they will become habituated with being around cars, officials say. That poses a risk to both the animals and the drivers who can accidentally crash into them.
“Moose and cars are not a good mix. If you hit the moose with your car, you take the legs out from under it and it’s going through your windshield,” Young said.
The best way to stop a moose from coming close to your car is simply driving away when you see them approaching, he added.
Another important warning Young and other officials continue to emphasize is the importance of staying inside your car and avoiding any interactions with wildlife, including moose.
While other animals typically run away when humans approach, moose will stand their ground and charge if they feel threatened.
“We’ve been seeing a lot more moose lately. The wolf population is decreasing, which means there’s fewer predators, and the moose population is going up as a result,” Young said. “This also means people need to be respectful and give them space.”
Visitors are not allowed to feed, entice or disturb wildlife in national parks, and violators could face fines up to $25,000, he added.
Here are some great wildlife pictures from around the world, courtesy of Lee Enterprises’ Destinations Travel Photo Contest:
