Buzzing sounds of hornets prove ticket for keeping deer off tracks
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MORIOKA–The sound of buzzing bees scares most people, but it’s music to the ears of East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) officials.
They may utilize the unsettling sound to keep deer off railway tracks and prevent collisions.
A three-month experiment with a beekeeper along the JR Yamada Line proved highly successful, leading the railway operator to consider introducing the warning system on a full-scale basis.
According to JR East, there were 108 cases of deer collisions on JR Yamada Line and 84 occurrences on JR Kamaishi Line during the six months through September.
Both lines run through mountainous areas in Iwate Prefecture. Accidents result in delays or other timetable problems.
Hanahana, a beekeepr based in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, has developed a device that utilizes an animal trait that makes them fear hornets based on its expertise.
The device delivers the buzzing sound and smell of several species of bees through pipes into designated areas to drive away nuisance animals.
After learning about Hanahana’s technologies through its group company, JR East started experimenting in late December in a stretch of about 500 meters between the Rikuchukawai and Haratai stations on the JR Yamada Line. Piping was installed along the railway tracks to produce the buzz of hornets and other bees from holes made at 2-meter intervals.
There were no reports of deer collisions in the section during the three-month experiment that ended in March.
According to Hanahana President Hideyuki Shimizu, deer footprints found before the experiment began were not spotted in February. Local residents also told him that they hadn’t seen deer for some time.
The system is expected to be even more effective if it diffuses the smell of bees on top of the buzzing sound. The piping was placed above ground for the experiment, but it can be installed underground.
In addition to deer, the system is also effective against wild boars and Asian black bears to a certain extent, Shimizu added.
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