Big bad wolf - [The Big Picture]

Even with today's modern implements, teasing a healthy crop out of the soil requires a huge commitment of time and energy. It's easy to see why a Japanese agricultural cooperative was looking for a way to protect local rice and chestnut crops from wild boars that were treating rows of plantings like an open- air buffet. Last spring, the group introduced the solar-powered Super Monster Wolf. The robot has a sensor that causes its head to swivel, its flashing red LED eyes to light up, and its "voice" to emit a loud howl when it detects an animal nearby. The electronic sentries, which sell for 514,000 yen (about US $4,700), are said to have dramatically lowered crop losses within a kilometer of wherever they've been placed.