Moose to choose which salt Sweden uses on roads

If you’ve ever come around a curve late at night only to find the road already occupied by a deer, you probably know that the collision between a car and a 200 pound critter can be dangerous. Now, multiply that critter’s weight by a factor of, oh, say seven or eight, and you’ve got a collision with a moose. (the only good thing in this scenario is that, if you’re driving a small car, the moose will probably pass over your head instead of landing in your lap.) In any case, that is why Swedish authorities are trying to find a salt flavor the moose do not like.

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.

In Norway, they’re more concerned with the salt getting into the environment than the collisions. This despite the following:

"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.

That's a lot of dead moose! You'd think that Norwegian drivers could avoid such a huge critter better than that. And how could you NOT report a collision with something as big as a moose? How do you explain the damage to your vehicle? And what happens to the critter on the roadside? This isn't a raccoon we're talking about, fer crying out loud. Someone has to notice it.

(Moose taste test road salt)

h/t Lucianne.com