Remote-controlled Tesla fends off javelinas circling family’s home in Arizona
.png "Jeff Weeldreyer demonstrates how he used his Tesla’s auto-drive feature to scare off a group of javelinas.")
An Arizona family used their Tesla to scatter a group of javelinas that gathered outside their home, local outlets reported.
Kimberly and Jeff Weeldreyer had been showing a friend their newly -built Scottsdale home last week when Jeff noticed the group of animals, including baby javelinas among them, ABC 15 reported.
Jeff knew that javelinas can become territorial when babies are around. He quickly suggested that Kimberly and their friend, Carolyn, retreat into their home. They enjoyed observing the javelinas but realized the animals weren’t scared off by noises like clapping, 12 News reported.
The couple eventually used the auto-drive feature on their Tesla to disrupt the group. The noise spurred the animals to quickly run off, ABC 15 reported.
Kimberly told 12 News that the couple understands they’ll have more encounters with wildlife near their new home in the future.
“Here we are, we are living among the wildlife, it’s part of it,” she said. “So we are on their turf. We have to learn to share the turf together.”
The pig-like javelina looks similar to a wild boar and lives in large family groups of about 10 animals. They can be found in Arizona, New Mexico, southwest Texas, Mexico, Central America and northern Argentina, according to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
The animals are herbivores and are generally not aggressive, though they can become that way in suburban areas near humans, Fox 13 reported. They have occasionally attacked humans and other animals, like dogs, in the past, though incidents of javelina bites are very rare and are usually associated with humans giving the animals food, according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
The Game and Fish Department recommends that people who see javelinas shoo them away by making loud noises, tossing small rocks at them, or spraying them with water from a garden hose. People who see the animals while walking their dogs should quickly take their dogs in another direction, the agency said.
This story was originally published November 22, 2021 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Remote-controlled Tesla fends off javelinas circling family’s home in Arizona."