Japanese Town Installs Howling Robotic Monster Wolf To Scare Off Wild Bears

The Japanese town of Takikawa, in the country’s northern island of Hokkaido, has come up with a solution to the threats to human lives and farmlands posed by wild bears that keep heading for the town in search of food: two mechanical monster wolf installations.

The town of Takikawa has installed a pair of robotic wolves with glowing red LED eyes and speakers that play howling sounds to scare the wild bears back into the wild, thus cutting down the risk of potentially fatal human encounters, Reuters reported.

The wolf-like robot dubbed "Monster Wolf," originally developed by Japanese machinery maker Ohta Seiki, also comes with faux fur and features bared teeth. The Monster Wolf moves its head from side to side when its motion detectors are activated. It also makes howling and screeching sounds and flashes light through its eyes, according to Reuters. The Monster Wolf reportedly stands 2.6 feet tall and is 4 feet long.

The wolf is capacitated to emit 60 different sounds, including a hunter’s voice, dog bark and gunshots, reported The New York Times. This is to ensure that the bears won’t get used to the sounds, according to Director Shuji Sasaki of Wolf Kamuy, the company that oversees the sales and maintenance of the wolf.

Greater Japan experienced an uptick in wild bear sightings between April to September this year. The tally reached 13,670, the highest for a six-month period since 2006, according to Japanese daily Kyodo News. According to the publication, two women died of injuries after bears attacked them in October.

Takikawa purchased and installed the wolves in September after residents in the town reported about wild bears from the surrounding forests walking into the human habitats. Takikawa city officials told Reuters that no bears have shown up ever since the robo-wolves were installed.

"We want to let the bears know, 'Human settlements aren't where you live,' and help with the coexistence of bears and people," the head of Ohta Seiki, Yuji Ota, told Japan’s Mainichi newspaper.