Now this is weird/interesting. Audio of actors Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson arguing in the movie Marriage Story are being used to scare off wolves in the US!
In an unusual effort to protect livestock, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is using scenes from Marriage Story — Noah Baumbach’s acclaimed 2019 drama starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson — to deter wolves.
According to the Wall Street Journal, audio of the couple’s intense arguments is being blasted through loudspeakers via drones equipped with thermal cameras to scare off wolves attacking cattle.
“I need the wolves to respond and know that, hey, humans are bad,” explained a USDA district supervisor in Oregon. This method, known as “wolf hazing,” is a non-lethal alternative to culling, as grey wolves remain a federally protected species. Alongside the Marriage Story clips, wolves are also subjected to gunshots, fireworks, and AC/DC’s Thunderstruck.
The strategy was deployed in the Klamath Basin after 11 cows were killed in 20 days. Following 85 days of drone patrols, only two more cattle deaths occurred.