Behaviours of moose at roadside mineral licks in British Columbia: Implications for moose-vehicle collisions

Abstract

Moose (Alces americanus) visit roadside mineral licks (RMLs; areas of roadside ditches where de-icing salts accumulate in spring) to obtain minerals that may be otherwise lacking in their diet. When moose use road corridors to access salts, they become hazards to motorists. Moose use of RMLs is dependent on season and time of day, but specific patterns of use and associated behaviours that may influence moose-vehicle collision risk are unknown. We used video-enabled camera traps, analysis of variance, and generalized additive mixed models to record, review, interpret, classify, and analyze the behaviours of adult moose between July 2012—July 2020 at five RMLs in north-central British Columbia. Monthly visitation rates to RMLs peaked in mid-summer which corresponds with the summer peak in moose-vehicle collisions in the study area. Bi-hourly visitation rates peaked at night. Vigilance and licking were the most common of many behaviours recorded. Cows with young spent the most time at RMLs, followed by bulls, then solitary cows. Proportion of time spent being vigilant peaked in May, licking peaked in June. Time spent licking was highest for bulls, followed by cows with young, then solitary cows. Research into complex and interacting factors such as traffic volume and flow, driver visibility and awareness of moose, and various methods for de-icing roads is further required to determine robust means of mitigating the risk of moose-vehicle collisions associated with RMLs.