A naughty moose licking a car, Grand Teton National Park. November, 2022.
She’s probably enjoying herself, but please, don’t let wildlife lick your car. While they would love nothing more than to lick all the road salt off of it, in doing so they can lose their fear of roads and vehicles, which endangers them and other people. Even worse, they can transmit diseases to each other through their saliva—the last big outbreak of pneumonia among the bighorn sheep at the National Elk Refuge killed 40% of the herd, and this is one of the ways it spreads.
The best thing to do in this situation is to not leave the car unattended so you can drive away if they start approaching.