The increase in bear attacks and sightings in Japan has led authorities to seek unconventional solutions, and one of the most ingenious is the installation of the so-called “Monster Wolves”.
These robots have a terrifying appearance reminiscent of the animatronics from Hollywood horror movies, with red eyes that glow in the dark, heads that move from side to side, and mechanical roars that imitate those of a real wolf, but amplified, to generate panic in any animal that dares to come near.
The proposal has seen a major increase in demand, because Japanese towns are desperate to protect their inhabitants, and Ohta Seiki, the manufacturing company, said that they have already received around 50 orders for this year, surpassing in just a few months the sales of an entire year.
Each unit costs around 4,000 dollars and runs on solar panels, batteries, and sensors.
“We make them by hand. Right now we can’t produce them fast enough”, said Yuji Ohta, president of the company, as his business works at full speed to manufacture more of these machines that have become the last hope of towns besieged by bears.