ABSTRACT
Salt is a sought-after commodity by mammals, especially large ungulates (Bennet & Sebastian 1988). Farmers routinely supply salt licks to cattle (Valk & Kogut 1998). Inland, a significant mortality factor for caribou in west central Alberta is being knocked down by motor vehicles in winter while licking salt off salt-treated roads (Brown et al. 2000), prompting management by use of roadside salt licks in northern New Hampshire (Miller & Litvaitis 1992). Key deer (Odocoilus virginianus clavium) may be associated with mangrove areas in order to secure a suitable supply of salt and minerals (Klimstra & Dooley 1990). Rabbits are also attracted to wooden pegs impregnated with salt, which they gnaw, and this propensity has been used in Australia to kill them by adding poison to the salt in an attempt to control their numbers (Myers 1975).
