Repellant spray demonstration target considerably less threatening than actual bears.

After a period of several months in which bear attacks became so frequent in Japan that “bear” was chosen as the kanji of the year for 2025, it’s been a while since the last major incident. However, this isn’t because human/bear relations have improved, but rather because, as with most conflicts, the situation has been temporarily deescalated with the onset of winter. While bears may not have to deal with the exact same tactical limitations that human armies historically have had to once the snow starts falling, they do have that whole hibernating thing they do, so the current cessation of ursine aggression doesn’t mean the issue has been resolved.

As such, the town of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture is already planning ahead for how to respond to dangerous bear encounters that could resume once the animals wake up in the spring, and their latest idea is anti-bear drones.

Tokyo-based manufacturer Terra Drone will be the initiative’s supplier. As shown above, the drone is equipped with a camera, GPS system, and, most importantly, loaded into in the section marked スプレー, a canister of bear-repellant pepper spray. This combination will allow the drone to be operated remotely, at a distance where the response team is out of danger, in order to move the bear out of areas where it could cause harm to humans or property without injuring the animal.

After securing a position above the bear, the drone can deploy its pepper spray payload directly underneath the unit, as shown in a demonstration performed on Tuesday in Ishinomaki. Did the demonstration include a target of a man dressed up in an adorable bear costume? Yes, of course it did. What kind of silly question is that? This is Japan.

If you’re thinking that might not be enough spray to stop a real bear, the drones to be used in actual incidents will be larger and carry a greater quantity of repellant, the project planners say.

“Today, I saw that it will be possible, when bears appear in [populated parts of] the city, to launch drones to repeal them,” commented Ishinomaki mayor Masami Saito. The 71-year-old Saito himself will not be at the controls, however, as the city is contracting with an outside company of drone operators to fly bear-repelling sorties starting this coming spring.

Source: Miyatele, PR Times
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: PR Times
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