Japan is facing a surge in human-bear encounters, leading to a shortage of its most famous deterrent: the Monster Wolf robot.

Record bear encounters: Japan recorded 13 bear-related deaths and over 50,000 sightings in 2025-2026, prompting heightened safety measures. Robot wolf demand: Ohta Seiki has received around 50 orders ...

Japan's rural areas face rising bear encounters, driving demand for 'Monster Wolf' robots to deter wildlife and raising ...

Fear of the fabled ‘big bad wolf’ has dominated the public perception of wolves for millennia and strongly influences current debates concerning human-wildlife conflict. Humans both fear wolves and, ...