Scientists in the U.S. are testing out a pretty wild solution for keeping wolves away from livestock… Blasting rock and metal from drones.
Working near the California-Oregon border, a team from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has been experimenting with drones equipped with speakers to try and scare off hungry wolves before they get too close to cattle.
The playlist of choice includes AC/DC’s Thunderstruck and Five Finger Death Punch’s cover of Blue on Black - tracks that are apparently meant to send a “back off” message to the wolves.
The drones are also loaded with gunshot sounds, fireworks, and even random movie clips, including Scarlett Johansson shouting “I am not putting up with this anymore!” from Marriage Story and Adam Sandler’s iconic “With what? I can’t talk to people?”
And if that somehow doesn’t scare the wolves, USDA drone pilots can literally grab a mic and yell at them directly.
“Wolves are frightened of novel things,” said Amaroq Weiss from the Centre for Biological Diversity. “I know that in the human imagination, people think of wolves as big, scary critters that are scared of nothing.”
The growing number of wolves has become a problem in parts of the U.S. over the years, and people have tried everything from electric fences and wolf alarms to guard dogs and horseback patrols to keep livestock safe - so scientists are hoping this method works.
Of course, there’s a slight chance this backfires and we end up with wolves in leather jackets, shot gunning Monster Energy drinks, and moshing to Thunderstruck.
