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Japan can’t make robot wolves fast enough to counter the rise in bear attacks that have killed 13 humans this year — $4,000+ animatronic Monster Wolf features intense LEDs and makes loud noises
With record reports of bear attacks on humans, Japan has been increasingly turning to high-tech solutions, as you might expect. However, reports suggest that Ohta Seiki, a firm making the animatronic robot Monster Wolf to repel bears from human-habituated areas, can’t keep up with demand. “We cannot make them fast enough,” company president Yuji Ohta told AFP.
This year’s order book for Monster Wolf has already hit 50 units. Hokkaido-based Ohta Seiki usually doesn’t even manufacture that many robot wolves in a whole year. According to the latest figures, bears killed 13 people in Japan last year. That’s more than double the fatality rate from the previous year. Sightings are up, too, with 50,000 reports of bears nationwide. That figure is more than double the previous sightings record.
(Image credit: Ohta Seiki, the Monster Wolf maker)
Of course, fatalities are a statistic at the extreme end of the situation. There are also numerous non-fatal incidents where bears have seriously injured or scarred humans, entered homes, roamed around schools, scared guests at hot spring resorts, and even rampaged through supermarkets in Japan.
With the record upswing in bear attacks and sightings, it isn’t a big surprise that business is booming for Ohta Seiki. Its Monster Wolf product looks ferocious. The official product pages say that the robot wolf imitates its real wild world namesake, but it turns up the fear levels by “emitting intense LED lights and loud voices.” Ohta Seiki is currently asking customers to “wait two to three months” for their orders to be fulfilled.
(Image credit: Ohta Seiki, the Monster Wolf maker)
The $4,000+ Monster Wolf has an infrared sensor to detect and target wild animals with its 50 types of loud noises, glowing red eyes, blue under-lighting, and neck swinging from side to side. The robot’s traversal of the terrain (wheels are an optional upgrade), animated movements, sounds, and lighting are powered by a combination of a 12V car battery and an (optional) solar charging panel.
Ohta Seiki has plans to expand its product range with a handheld version of Monster Wolf for hikers, anglers, and schoolchildren, reports AFP. It is also looking at leveraging AI cameras to improve its anti-bear tech.
Earlier in the year, we reported on bear-repelling drones being deployed around Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture to address concerns about a “bear infestation.”
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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
Brown bear (Hokkaido only)
1.4~2.0m, 100~250kg
Asian black bear (main island of Japan and Shikoku)
1.2~1.5m, 40~100kg
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASTB03T73TB0UTFL009M.html
Notable Instances of Bear Spray Failures Banff National Park, Canada: In one of Canada's deadliest grizzly encounters, two experienced backpackers seemingly emptied a can of bear spray while battling a predatory grizzly bear, but the animal persisted. Tanana Uplands, Alaska: While conducting environmental surveys, a wildlife biologist and her colleague were stalked and attacked by a black bear. A desperate attempt to deploy pepper spray failed to stop the predatory attack, resulting in a fatality. Glacier National Park, Montana: Search-and-rescue crews recovered an empty can of bear spray near the body of a hiker in what appeared to be a fatal surprise encounter with a grizzly bear. Wyoming Backcountry: Experienced guide Mark Uptain was fatally mauled by a grizzly bear after he successfully deployed bear spray. Though the initial spray deterred the bear, it returned to fiercely defend its kill.We used to just kill predators that were near human populations. Now in the name of conservation and being humane we give predators protections that prohibit people from actually defending themselves. We make stupid excuses like, "well the chances of being attacked are rare, they're usually more afraid of you than you are of them" or other nonsense.
I'm older than most here and when I grew up bears, wolves, coyotes, and even fox were rare in the rural area I lived, and I grew up camping, fishing, spending whole days and nights in the woods and never saw even tracks of predators that could endanger even kids. We didn't need bear spray because if people saw a bear they'd just shoot it and so kids, women, and even unarmed adults were usually much safer because even when there were high level predators they were afraid of humans.
Suicidal empathy isn't a good thing. I get that humans are consuming more and more space on Earth, but we should still limit where predators are allowed to populate near humans.
