STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 10 The elk and reindeer at a Swedish zoo are being used as taste-testers to determine whether animals prefer straight salt or salt mixed with sugar.If the animals display a preference for one, the other will be used on icy roads in Sweden, The Local reports. That's because road officials are trying to figure out ways to reduce collisions between cars and wildlife.Frida Hedin of the Swedish National Roads Administration said that five elk and five reindeer at the Skansen wildlife park in Stockholm will be the subjects of the experiment. Blocks of both straight salt and sweetened salt will be placed in their enclosure until June, and then weighed to determine if one has been licked more than the other.Officials hope that animals prefer salt on its own because that would allow them to reduce the amount of salt introduced into the environment.Copyright 2007 by UPI
