NorCal Ranchers Are Using Drones, AC/DC, and Scarlett Johansson to Scare Wolves Away From Cattle

AENN

NPR

For centuries, ranchers have tried to protect livestock from wolves. Now, near the California-Oregon border, biologists are experimenting with a high-tech approach: drones blasting rock music, movie clips, and even live human voices to scare wolves away from cattle.

Wolf kill Sierra County August 2025

The project, led by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, uses drones equipped with thermal cameras and loudspeakers to monitor wolves at night. Preloaded sound bites range from AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” to scenes from the film Marriage Story, along with fireworks, gunshots, and heavy metal tracks. If the wolves don’t scatter, pilots can yell through a microphone in real time.

The tactic has shown early success, interrupting wolf hunts and reducing livestock deaths at ranches along the Oregon-California border. Patrols even expanded south to the Sierra Valley this summer. Scientists hope the technology will promote coexistence between wolves and ranchers, though some fear the predators may eventually grow used to the noise.

Wolves have rebounded across the West since reintroduction efforts in the 1990s, with dozens now roaming Northern California. That recovery has also fueled conflict: gray wolves killed roughly 800 domesticated animals across 10 states in 2022. While ranchers are compensated for proven wolf kills, they often face additional costs from stressed cattle.

The drones aren’t perfect—each rig can cost $20,000, requires trained operators, and struggles in heavily wooded areas. Still, ranchers in Siskiyou and Shasta counties report fewer losses since the patrols began.

Whether wolves eventually adapt remains an open question. For now, however, blasting heavy metal from the sky may be the most rock-and-roll way to keep cattle safe in Northern California.