Deer are a major problem for Japan.

Last year, 613 animals were hit by trains, according to Japan's transport ministry as reported in The Asahi Shimbu, causing 30-minute of delay on average. Deer in particular are a problem as they are drawn to the iron filings around railroad tracks because they need iron in their diets. The filings, created by the trains' friction with the tracks, are a convenient supplement.

But a new, somewhat strange idea may help put an end to this problem, for deer and commuters alike. Researchers from Japan's Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI) say that speakers on a train playing a deer snorting followed by 20 seconds of dogs barking is effective in causing deer to run away from the tracks.

The sounds have been tested late at night when deer tend to crowd the tracks for their iron fix and have resulted in half as many deer sightings on the tracks, says RTRI. It's such an impressive fix that RTRI will recommend installing speakers to play these sounds in areas where deer are common (though not, they note, where people live).

This isn't the first out-of-the-box idea Japan has used to curb its deer problem. Railway employee Yuki Hikita won Japan's Good Design Award in December proposing the use of ultrasonic waves to act as a kind of gate to the tracks—open when no trains are near and closed when one is fast approaching.

Whatever the fix Japan decides on, everyone wins.

Source: The Asahi Shimbun via BBC

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