International Railroad Discussion > Lion Dung on Train Tracks Keeps Deer Safe

TOKYO (Reuters) - Railway officials in Wakayama, a largely rural prefecture in western Japan, racked their brains for months for a way to keep wild deer from running onto train tracks and getting killed.



Finally, inspiration struck: scare them off with lion dung.


Taking hints from research by forestry experts, who found that deer shunned the aroma of the king of beasts, officials at the local branch of West Japan Railway Co (JR West) got the material they needed from a local amusement park.


"I forget how much, but it was a whole lot. I think about 100 kg (220 lb)," Takao Maeda of JR West in Shingu, some 450 km (280 miles) west of Tokyo, said on Wednesday.


"They sort of mixed it with water and then spread it along the tracks."


The strategy appears to have worked for now.


For along a 400 meter (1,300 ft) stretch of tracks where a number of deer were struck last year -- the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said 30 between January and October -- none have been hit since the dung was spread last November.


In fact, officials are now looking to spread the success even further by using the same method elsewhere.


Maeda admitted that there is, however, a huge drawback.


"The odor is really, really foul," he said. "So we can only use it on tracks in uninhabited areas."


The plan is also apparently hard on the amusement park, which freezes the dung and stocks it until needed.


But Maeda said the trouble is worth it. "We're all really pleased to help keep the deer from being killed."

Wow, thats really interesting, thanks for the post!!

well here in USA it won't work no dung on our rails.
we would have to recycle the lion dung in retention lion dung toilets.
ahh the import of lion dung would be taxed to max anyhow.

Have to do a study to see if people poop along the ROW will discourage deer, might work
on foamers also. Have to make a suggestion to the sierra club!

ge13031: stay away from white streaks on the ROW and no flushing in the station. Maybe an Artsy-Fartsy shot will have a doubler meaning ??