spectr17
02-26-2003, 02:21 AM
Lion dung keeps wild deer at bay in Wakayama
February 21, 2003
Japan Today
WAKAYAMA — Employees of West Japan Railway Co (JR West) may have found a perfect solution to deter the wild deer from getting near railroad tracks and triggering train accidents.
According to an experiment conducted by the JR West Wakayama regional office, lion excrement appears to do the trick.
JR West Wakayama regional office officials say they launched the experiment last November and spread 40 kilograms of diluted lion excrement on a 400-meter stretch of the JR Kisei Line, a section which they say has been plagued by train accidents involving roaming deer.
More than three months have passed and there has been no report of deer accidents in that sector of the railroad, the officials say.
According to the JR West Wakayama regional office, the number of train accidents involving deer have been rising steadily on the Kisei Line from around 1996. Before 1996, less than 20 accidents were reported each year; the figure rose to 202 last year.
The accidents not only led to delays and even cancellations of train services, but railway employees also had to spend time disposing deer carcasses.
JR West Wakayama officials say they had tried many methods to deter deer from getting near railway tracks. They installed so-called "deer whistles" on trains emitting frequencies that are disliked by deer. They lined rail tracks with sticks treated with chemicals and human hair that are supposed to drive the animals away.
Those efforts, however, showed no visible results. The deer apparently quickly learned how to decipher the human tricks.
The breakthrough came last May when an JR West Wakayama employee came across a newspaper article that a research conducted by a forestry institute in Tokushima Prefecture shows the dung of carnivores can be effective in repelling deer from damaging forestry products.
The JR West Wakayama office got hold of lion excrement from the leisure park Adventure World in Shirahama, diluted the stuff with water and sprayed the mix along 400 meters of track between the Esumi and Wabuka stations, the area most affected by deer accidents.
The experiment has so far kept deer accidents at zero for more than three months, JR West Wakayama officials said.
The officials say they plan to try out the method in other localities as well. (Kyodo News)
February 21, 2003
Japan Today
WAKAYAMA — Employees of West Japan Railway Co (JR West) may have found a perfect solution to deter the wild deer from getting near railroad tracks and triggering train accidents.
According to an experiment conducted by the JR West Wakayama regional office, lion excrement appears to do the trick.
JR West Wakayama regional office officials say they launched the experiment last November and spread 40 kilograms of diluted lion excrement on a 400-meter stretch of the JR Kisei Line, a section which they say has been plagued by train accidents involving roaming deer.
More than three months have passed and there has been no report of deer accidents in that sector of the railroad, the officials say.
According to the JR West Wakayama regional office, the number of train accidents involving deer have been rising steadily on the Kisei Line from around 1996. Before 1996, less than 20 accidents were reported each year; the figure rose to 202 last year.
The accidents not only led to delays and even cancellations of train services, but railway employees also had to spend time disposing deer carcasses.
JR West Wakayama officials say they had tried many methods to deter deer from getting near railway tracks. They installed so-called "deer whistles" on trains emitting frequencies that are disliked by deer. They lined rail tracks with sticks treated with chemicals and human hair that are supposed to drive the animals away.
Those efforts, however, showed no visible results. The deer apparently quickly learned how to decipher the human tricks.
The breakthrough came last May when an JR West Wakayama employee came across a newspaper article that a research conducted by a forestry institute in Tokushima Prefecture shows the dung of carnivores can be effective in repelling deer from damaging forestry products.
The JR West Wakayama office got hold of lion excrement from the leisure park Adventure World in Shirahama, diluted the stuff with water and sprayed the mix along 400 meters of track between the Esumi and Wabuka stations, the area most affected by deer accidents.
The experiment has so far kept deer accidents at zero for more than three months, JR West Wakayama officials said.
The officials say they plan to try out the method in other localities as well. (Kyodo News)