A Japanese firm making ferocious-looking robot wolves is being swamped by orders after record numbers of fatal bear attacks last year.
“Monster Wolf” is an animatronic scarecrow with flashing red eyes that howls and growls menacingly to scare away wild animals.
Ohta Seiki, the Hokkaido-based firm that makes the devices, has already received about 50 orders this year, more than the usual volume for an entire year.
Photo: AFP
“We make them by hand. We cannot make them fast enough now. We are asking our customers to wait two to three months,” company president Yuji Ohta told reporters.
“Awareness of bear safety and measures against wildlife damage [on farm products] improved. There was also a growing recognition that our product is effective in dealing with bears,” Ohta said.
Orders come mostly from farmers, operators of golf courses and people working outside in rural areas such as in construction.
Bears have killed 13 people across Japan last year and so far this year. More than 50,000 bear sightings were recorded nationwide, more than double the previous record set two years previously, official data showed.
The animals have been seen entering homes, roaming near schools, and rampaging through supermarkets and hot spring resorts on an almost daily basis.
The number of bears captured and then culled nearly tripled from a year earlier to 14,601, also marking an all-time high.
Some northern regions also reported in April more than four times as many sightings as last year as the animals emerge from hibernation, local media said.
“Monster Wolf” features artificial fur draped over an assembled pipe frame, attached to speakers, topped with a menacing, open-mouthed face.
For prices starting from about ￥600,000 (US$3,803), the system comes with a battery, solar panels, sensors, speakers and other apparatus.
It broadcasts more than 50 recorded sounds, including human voices and electronic noises, audible up to 1km away.
The device turns its head from side to side, flashes red LED eyes, while its tail is equipped with blue LEDs.
Ohta introduced the product in 2016 to prevent damage to agricultural products by deer, boars and bears, and it was initially derided as a gimmick.
The company is now upgrading the device by putting it on wheels to chase animals or patrol specific paths.
Ohta also plans to develop a handheld version for hikers, anglers and schoolchildren, while also exploring artificial intelligence cameras for future models.
“We wanted to apply our manufacturing to do our part to deal with bears,” he said.
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