How AC/DC is leaving American wolves thunderstruck

American farmers are using the voice of Scarlett Johansson and rock music to scare wolves away from their cattle.

Quadcopter drones blaring AC/DC and violent film scenes are being deployed by the US Department of Agriculture to ward off the animals, which have been preying on cattle in Oregon and California. The drones are equipped with thermal cameras that can spot wolves lurking in the dark and shine a light on them.

Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver in Marriage Story. Credit: Netflix

They also have a loudspeaker that broadcasts alarming noises, including the sounds of fireworks, gunshots and people arguing. One recording is of the fight scene between Johansson and Adam Driver in the film Marriage Story.

“I need the wolves to respond and know that, hey, humans are bad,” Paul Wolf, a district supervisor with the department in Oregon, told The Wall Street Journal.

Wolf has led a government study since 2022 on using drones to frighten away the animals. It is the latest technological innovation in the fight to stop attacks by wolves in America’s rural northwest.

The US wolf population has soared since the animals were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, in 1995, growing from 300 to about 6000, excluding Alaska.

A Western grey wolf captured by a remote camera in Oregon in 2017.Credit: AP

As a result, attacks on cattle and sheep have shot up. Farmers are often unable to harm the predators because of their protected status.

Jim and Mary Rickert, who own Prather Ranch in California, have lost as many as 40 calves to wolf attacks over the past year.

“It’s basically like driving through Burger King, easy pickings for them,” Rickert, 73, told the Journal.

Since their deployment, drones have dramatically reduced the number of wolf attacks in Oregon.

Brian Johnson (left) and Angus Young of AC/DC perform on their PWR/UP tour in Germany last month.Credit: Getty Images

In the Klamath Basin, in the southern part of the state, the number of cows killed by wolves fell from 11 over a 20-day period to two over the next 85 days following the drones’ introduction.

The $US20,000 ($31,000) flying vehicles are capable of doing a battery “hot swap”, meaning their power source can be changed without switching the drone off, enabling near-continuous surveillance.

Wolf and his team travel to ranches in Oregon and California where there have been reports of calves killed by wolves, and carry out all-night stakeouts to ward off further attacks.

Footage of the team at work shows a screen displaying a wolf illuminated by a spotlight, captured by a night-vision camera on a drone hovering above.

“Hey, get out of here! Get!” Wolf’s colleague, Colby McAdams, shouts via the microphone on the drone’s controller, causing the animal to run off.

The Telegraph, London

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.

Most Viewed in World

Loading