Repellency of three compounds to caribou

Each winter, caribou (Rangifer tarandus) are struck by vehicles and killed when licking salt (NaCl) on roads in west-central Alberta. We tested, with 14 caribou, the repellency of 3 compounds that could be added to salt-sand mixtures or placed along roads to discourage licking of salt by caribou. We put the compounds on or near a highly preferred, pelleted food and offered the food to the caribou. Wolfin(R), an olfactory repellent simulating wolf urine, did not affect the time caribou spent feeding or the amount of food eaten. Caribou were repelled initially by Deer Away Big Came Repellent(R), an olfactory and taste repellent, but feeding time and food intake increas ed to nearly pretreatment levels by the end of the test period. Caribou rej ected almost entirely food treated with lithium chloride (LICl), a gastroin testinal toxicant, for the entire 5-day treatment period. Field trials are warranted to determine whether LiCl can deter caribou or other ungulates fr om licking road salt, thereby reducing animal-vehicle collisions.