Japan’s robot wolf sells out as record bear attacks drive demand(independent.co.uk) |
Japan’s robot wolf sells out as record bear attacks drive demand(independent.co.uk) |
And they are awesome dogs…bread so you can trust your life to one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karelian_Bear_Dog
https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/view.htm?id=97DA9C58-7976-4D...
For example in the US Park Service link, you can see a single dog riding with a single park ranger.
https://www.dog-learn.com/breed-vs-breed/akita-vs-karelian-b...
On a sidenote, I have no idea why people get Akitas as pets in urban environments. They were used to fend of bears, have close to zero friendliness. Even the Karelian Bear Dog is a better pick. Maybe Hachikō is to blame.
Luckily we were in the sticks and had a decent plot of land so he could be out and exercise without putting anyone else’s pets at risk.
We knew that Coonhounds had to be introduced to cats in a very carefully because they frequently confuse them for prey, and we succeeded. She integrated nicely into a household with five cats.
It's been decades since she's passed and I still miss her very much. I grew up with Black and Tan Coonhounds and had blues and Black and Tans as an adult. I miss them all.
It is a electronic scarecrow.
Maybe one that moves soon, but even then still not something I would call a robot wolf.
Two thoughts on this captioned image: (1) holy $&!# that is horrifying (2) if its designed to ward off bears, isn't it a scarebear?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/05/13/super-m...
The vast majority of hunters live out in aging, rural areas. Areas where young people are moving from to more urban cores like Tokyo, Nagoya, or Osaka.
Additionally, hunting isn't seen as a "leisure" activity here; it's seen as a job. One that doesn't pay that well either.
Getting a gun license here isn't hard, takes a couple of months, mostly of just waiting, at worst. The police will do mental health screenings, financial reports, social screenings, and a few other risk vectors, which take a bit.
Source: Actively going through the process.
America knows exactly what to do when bears are attacking and we're out of robot wolves.
I am not trying to say that Japanese wolves would solve the problem entirely, but I do think it is important to not try to sway ecological systems too much. Our interactions with nature can sometimes have unpredictable downstream effects.
If Japan were to be rid of bears, then I imagine their next problem would be sika or wild boars.
Now a couple moving from a city to a rural area needs to learn to do this work or not move to a village. The population decline in most places makes it clear that availability of services is only going to get worse.
In economic theory, that's an obvious business opportunity.
In the real world.., might you know what barriers a small roofing repair business would face in rural Japan?
Most of his interactions with other animals was the local coyote pack coming to see if he was easy pickings yet. The last 2-3 years of his life I would follow him on his nighttime bathroom breaks with a bat ready to help my old man in his last battle. Luckily it never came to that and he died peacefully in his sleep on my lap.
Also, under certain constructions of the word "territory," (including the legal one) all territory in Japan is human territory. The bears are allowed to live on some of it but it is at the sufferance of the Japanese people.
My roof was damaged in heavy snowfall this winter and I needed to wait 3 months to get it repaired. And I'm not even really in a rural area. The guy who did the repairs looked to be in his 60s - I don't think many young people are looking to get into this business.
I think most contractors would do better in more densely populated areas where lots of new construction is happening.
That's what life in an economically declining/dying area is like.
They literally say you (could) shoot the thing as an actual emergency stop to brake all the actuators.
Wild.
Snake: No time! I'm gonna try shooting it.
Otacon: That'll work too. I put that in as a failsafe.