Japanese city deploys anti-bear drones as 'human casualties at an all-time high' — non-lethal spray can be delivered with 10cm accuracy radius, 1km range

(Image credit: Terra Drone)

A Japanese city is rolling out an anti-bear drone system in response to “record levels of bear casualties and sightings.” Terra Drone has announced (machine translation) that its bear-repelling drones will be deployed around Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture to address concerns regarding a “bear infestation.”

Terra Drone quotes Japanese Ministry of the Environment figures as part of the explanation as to the current wave of ursine issues in the land of the rising sun. Its press release states that the number of human-bear encounters “has increased by 163% since 2021, with 20,792 cases nationwide, 100 injuries since April, and more than 12 deaths.” These are the worst official stats ever, says the firm.

A number of factors are thought to have resulted in the current situation. For example, Japan has seen the number of people with hunting licenses decline from over half a million in 1975 to around 220,000 in 2020. Moreover, 60% of holders are now over 60 years old. Meanwhile, city developers increasingly move nearer to bear habitats, closing the circle on their free roaming areas. It is also claimed that the police and similar agencies face constraints on lethal training to address wild animals.

Terra Drone to the rescue

Last year, Terra Drone adapted its devices to respond quickly to bear sightings and carry bear repellent sprays. The resulting drone system can “combine speed, safety, and immediate effectiveness.”

In action, the drones are operated from up to a kilometer (~1,100 yards) away, ensuring operator safety. A drone can deliver its capsaicin spray on target at distances between 5 and 10 meters (up to ~11 yards) from the bear. This has a temporary, non-lethal impact on the bear(s), and makes sure they can’t sense humans in their vicinity.

Terra Drone has previously demonstrated a similar pesticide packing drone for farms. It is claimed to be accurate enough to spray areas with an accuracy of within a 10cm radius.

Ishinomaki City is far from the only area in Japan affected by bears.

Last year, we reported on Japanese tech giant NTT’s design for a laser drone system designed to protect chickens. It is good to hear and see advanced drone systems being used outside the theater of war.

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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.

3 Comments Comment from the forums

jwnm

In America we have the best deterrence they are called hunters.
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Zaranthos

jwnm said:
In America we have the best deterrence they are called hunters.

We also have a growing predator problem as we protect once endangered or at risk species along with repopulating them closer to human areas. As a kid I played day and night in the forests of rural Minnesota with no fears of wolves, bears, coyote, etc. That has changed now as bears roam near humans, even having bear problems in towns where they get into garbage. Big cats are also repopulating closer to humans. Even armed things don't go well for people who are surprised or surprise a big predator, especially if they have cubs. Even a well trained hunter often can't react fast enough to protect themselves against a surprise predator attack.
Reply
Findecanor

The root cause of the problem has been programs that have caused hunters to kill more deer and bore for bounty instead of for the meat.
So, some irresponsible hunters have used snares and traps to catch more animals. Often they have after killing an animal just cut off the tail for the bounty and left the carcass to rot.

Japanese black bears don't typically hunt, but are opportunists. So, when they come across a carcass, or a helpless trapped animal, they help themselves.
This has made some of them accustomed to eating meat, killing for meat and to associating the smell of humans with that food.

Areas without hunting and trapping for bounties have not had any recorded cases of bears hunting humans.

But yes, there are other factors: Rising bear population previous years but last year being a bad year for bear's natural food sources, wild bores migrating into bear country competing for the same plants, natural forests being replaced with "tree plantations" with less plant variety, fewer humans in the countryside to scare bears away, and fewer hunters.
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