AC/DC meets wildlife control: drones playing Thunderstruck to repel wolves
The popular rock track is being used in California to protect cattle from hungry wolves.
The movie Black Hawk Down told the story of how a captured American soldier in Somalia got a moment’s relief from his torturous conditions after troops blasted out Hells Bells from the side of a helicopter in order to boost his morale.
Now, AC/DC are controlling wild wolves.
Since their reintroduction in Idaho and at Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1990s, grey wolves have made such an astonishing comeback that they’re no longer considered endangered in the region. However, their presence has caused something of a conflict with ranchers and farmers, who regularly see their livestock killed. An Associated Press review of data from state and federal agencies found that grey wolves killed 800 domesticated animals across 10 states in 2022.
What happens when electrified fencing, wolf alarms, guard dogs, and horseback patrols don’t do enough to scare away the wolf pack?
You turn to AC/DC, of course.
“People think of wolves as big, scary critters”
Scientists found that human voices keep the wolves at bay, and who better than Brian Johnson? They used clips including recordings of music, gunshots, fireworks and voices — including Thunderstruck — and put them onto drones flown at night, when the wolves are most active in their hunts.
“Wolves are frightened of novel things,” Amaroq Weiss, a wolf advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, told AP. “I know that in the human imagination, people think of wolves as big, scary critters that are scared of nothing.”
While this method seems productive, its downside is the cost. AP notes that a drone with night vision and a loudspeaker costs around $20,000″ and “requires professional training that doesn’t work well in wooded areas, making it impractical for many ranchers.”
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