The town of Takiwawa, on the northern island of Hokkaido, bought and installed a pair of robots in September after they were found wandering around a bear. City officials said no bear encounters have occurred since then.
Bear watching is at a five-year high, mostly in rural areas of western and northern Japan, according to a report by the nation’s broadcaster NHK. There have been dozens of attacks so far in 2020, two of which have been fatal, prompting the government to call an emergency meeting last month to address the threat.
The Monster Wolf robot has four legs, a blonde mane and a fierce, glowing-red-eyed shaggy body. When its motion detectors are activated, it moves its head, turns on the lights, and emits 60 different sounds, ranging from wolf sounds to machinery sounds.
Machinery manufacturer Ohta Seki has sold about 70 robots since 2018.
The real Japanese wolf roamed the country’s central and northern islands more than a century before it became extinct.
Takivawa city officials said the bears are becoming more active and dangerous as they search for food before going into hibernation in late November. According to local media, the decline in acorns and almonds in the wild this year has forced animals to move closer to towns in search of sustenance.
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