Content provided by British Council
[1] A Japanese company that makes scary robot wolves is getting many orders because there were a lot of bear attacks last year. The “Monster Wolf” is a robot that looks like a wolf and has bright red eyes. It makes scary sounds, such as howling and growling, to scare away wild animals.
[2] Ohta Seiki is a company in Hokkaido that makes the devices. This year, they have already received about 50 orders, which is more than they usually get in a year. “We make these devices by hand, so we can’t make them very quickly. We are asking our customers to wait two to three months,” said Yuji Ohta, the president of the company. He said that more people now understand bear safety and how to protect their farm products from wildlife.
[3] Most of the orders come from farmers, people who work at golf courses, and those who work outdoors in rural areas, such as in construction.
[4] More than 50,000 people reported seeing bears across the country last year. This is more than twice the number of sightings from two years ago. The bears were spotted entering people’s homes, walking near schools and causing trouble in supermarkets and hot spring resorts almost every day.
[5] The number of bears caught and killed was almost three times that of the previous year. Some areas in the north reported in April that there were more than four times as many bear sightings compared with last year. This increase is attributed to bears coming out of hibernation, according to local news reports.
[6] “Monster Wolf” is made with fake fur that is placed over a frame made of pipes. It has speakers and a scary, open-mouthed face on top. The price starts at about US$4,000 (HK$31,350).
[7] It plays over 50 different recorded sounds, like human voices and electronic noises. These noises can be heard from up to a kilometre away. The device can move its head from side to side. It also has red LED lights that flash for its eyes, and its tail has blue LED lights.
[8] In 2016, Ohta launched a product to protect crops from damage caused by deer, boars and bears. At first, many people thought it was just a gimmick and didn’t take it seriously. Now, the company is improving the device by adding wheels so it can move around to scare away animals or check certain areas.
[9] Ohta wants to create a small version that people can hold. This will be good for hikers, anglers and schoolchildren. They are also looking into using artificial intelligence in cameras for future versions. “We wanted to apply our manufacturing to do our part to deal with bears,” he said.
Source: Agence France-Presse, May 13
