A robot wolf tested by Japan Agricultural Co-operatives as a way of protecting crops is going into mass production next month.
The Super Monster Wolf, a 65cm-long, 50cm-tall animatronic beast, is powered by solar-rechargeable batteries.
With realistic-looking fur, sharp fangs and glaring red eyes, it was developed to scare wild boar away from rice and chestnut crops. When it detects an approaching animal, its eyes start flashing and it lets out a range of terrifying howls.
The gadget has been undergoing tests at the co-op since July, on farmland near Kisarazu City in Japan’s eastern Chiba prefecture.
Japan Agricultural Cooperatives says crop losses have fallen in areas where the Super Monster Wolf has been in use.
Chihiko Umezawa of the agricultural co-op group told the Chiba Nippo news website that the device has an effective radius of about one kilometre, suggesting it is more effective than an electric fence.
Now, the robot wolf is going into mass production, with units costing about 514,000 yen (£3,460) each, but there are options for farmers to pay a cheaper monthly lease on a wolf.
The device will be manufactured by Ota Seiki Co Ltd, which says the boar will not get used to the device because the wolf, now extinct in Japan, was their natural enemy.
