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mahatmakanejeeves

(62,013 posts)
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 04:24 PM Dec 2018

Why Do the Deer Cross the Railroad?

Date: 12/19/18 15:28
Why Do the Deer Cross the Railroad?
Author: jgilmore

This researcher thinks he has an answer:

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201812190005.html

Has anyone noticed this as well? Is it that big of a problem in the States? Do their tongues stick to the rails in cold weather?

JG

Steel worker solves mystery as to why deer cross rail tracks
By YASUHIRO HONDA/ Staff Writer

December 19, 2018 at 07:30 JST

Why do deer loiter around railway tracks?

That question puzzled Norihiko Kajimura, who serves as head of a development and planning team in the building material technology research section of Tokyo-based Nippon Steel & Sumikin Metal Products Co.
....

Based on the finding, Kajimura formed a new hypothesis that even experts or railway companies have never come up with, that deer “enter the tracks because they want to lick the rails to ingest iron.”

To test his hypothesis, Kajimura scattered powdered iron over the ground and discovered that deer dug into the soil to consume the powder. When a deer licking the rails was captured on a video, he became convinced that his theory was correct.
....
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PhrankT

(113 posts)
2. Looked at Wiki & now I'm finding this rather fascinating!
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 04:44 PM
Dec 2018
A mineral lick (also known as a salt lick) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals. Mineral licks can be naturally occurring or artificial (such as blocks of salt that farmers place in pastures for livestock to lick).

Natural licks are common, and they provide essential elements such as phosphorus and the biometals (sodium, calcium, iron, zinc, and trace elements) required in the springtime for bone, muscle and other growth in deer and other wildlife, such as moose, elephants, tapirs, cattle, woodchucks, domestic sheep, fox squirrels, mountain goats and porcupines.

Such licks are especially important in ecosystems with poor general availability of nutrients. Harsh weather exposes salty mineral deposits that draw animals from miles away for a taste of needed nutrients. It is thought that certain fauna can detect calcium in salt licks
.[1]

Overview
Many animals regularly visit mineral licks to consume clay, supplementing their diet with nutrients and minerals. Some animals require the minerals at these sites not for nutrition, but to ward off the effects of secondary compounds that are included in the arsenal of plant defences against herbivory.[2]

The mineral contents of these sites usually contain calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S) phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and sodium (Na).[3][4][5][6]
Mineral lick sites play a critical role in the ecology and diversity of organisms that visit these sites, but little is still understood about the dietary benefits.

The paths animals made to natural mineral licks and watering holes became the hunting paths predators and early man used for hunting. It is theorized that these salt and water paths became trails and later roads for early man.[7]

Nonetheless, many studies have identified other uses and nutritional benefits from other micronutrients that exist at these sites, including selenium (Se), cobalt (Co) and/or molybdenum (Mo).[8][9]

In addition to the utilization of mineral licks, many animals suffer from traffic collisions as they gather to lick salts accumulated on road surfaces.
Animals also consume soil (geophagy) to obtain minerals, such as moose from Canada mining for minerals from the root wads of fallen trees.[
10][11]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_lick

I recall my rancher father putting out salt blocks (licks) for the cattle.
However, I never questioned Why.

Now we know. Makes sense how its explained in your artucle.
Whether the needed minerals come from a man-made source like the salt block or a natural source found in the wild, like the iron train rails, the purpose is nutrients .

Thanks for posting this.

mahatmakanejeeves

(62,013 posts)
3. The original name of Roanoke, Virginia, was Big Lick.
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 04:47 PM
Dec 2018
Roanoke, Virginia
....

History

Timeline

Timeline of Roanoke, Virginia

Incorporation


The town first called Big Lick was established in 1852 and chartered in 1874. It was named for a large outcropping of salt which drew the wildlife to the site near the Roanoke River. In 1882 it became the town of Roanoke, and in 1884 it was chartered as the independent city of Roanoke. The name Roanoke is said to have originated from an Algonquian word for shell "money".
....
 

PhrankT

(113 posts)
4. What the heck! Big Lick, Virginia, Named for it's salt that fed the wildlife.
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 05:03 PM
Dec 2018

Interesting story.
Thank you.

When one looks at the migration of animals, this can be added to the why & where they travel.

Ya think I would know this since I grew up around animals, domestic & wild.

I must have been busy concentrating on the oppo sex or cars or something.
Big Duh, to my youth
HA!

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