Japan’s robot wolf sells out as record bear attacks drive demand: ‘We cannot make them fast enough’

A Japanese manufacturer of animatronic wolves designed to scare off wild animals is being swamped with orders as the East Asian country grapples with rising bear attacks.

Ohta Seiki, a company based in Hokkaido, has already received about 50 orders for its “Monster Wolf” device this year, more than the typical volume for an entire year.

“We make them by hand. We cannot make them fast enough now. We are asking our customers to wait two to three months,” company president Yuji Ohta told AFP.

The surge in demand for the robotic wolf follows a record 13 fatal bear attacks in 2025-2026, more than twice the previous high. There were more than 50,000 bear sightings nationwide in that period, more than double the previous record set two years earlier. The animals were seen entering homes, roaming near schools, and rampaging through stores and hot spring resorts on an almost daily basis.

The number of bears captured and culled nearly tripled from a year earlier to 14,601, also an all-time high. In the month of April alone, some northern regions reported nearly four times as many sightings as all of last year as bears emerged from hibernation.

The Monster Wolf is a motion-activated scarecrow with artificial fur draped over a pipe frame, flashing red LED eyes, a menacing open-mouthed face, and a tail fitted with blue LEDs. It broadcasts roughly 50 kinds of recorded sounds, including human voices and electronic noises, audible up to a kilometre away, and turns its head from side to side to create the impression of a prowling predator.

It costs around £3,000 for a base model, including battery, solar panels and sensors.

Mr Ohta introduced the product in 2016 to protect agricultural land from deer, boars and bears, and it was initially dismissed as a gimmick. Orders now come mostly from farmers, golf course operators and people working outdoors in rural areas such as construction workers.

The company is upgrading the device to put it on wheels so it can chase animals or patrol specific paths, and Mr Ohta plans to develop a handheld version for hikers, anglers and schoolchildren.

The company is also exploring AI cameras for future models. “We wanted to apply our manufacturing to do our part to deal with bears,” Mr Ohta said.