These creepy taxidermy robots are catching poachers

Hunters kill at least as many animals illegally as they do legally — and with busy and underfunded wildlife law enforcement, anti-poaching teams can be strapped for the resources to catch the criminals. So wouldn't it be nice if there were some sort of zombie deer officials could keep an eye on, and then nail poachers when it was shot at — with no harm to an actual deer?

In fact, there is a kind of zombie deer roaming the American wilderness, along with robot elk, bears, turkeys, foxes, and wolves, The Washington Post reports. Across the nation, wildlife law enforcement are using taxidermy robot decoys that look and move like real animals in order to trick poachers into pulling the trigger. Officers drop into a region where they've been tipped off about illegal hunting and then set up the decoy, using a remote to move its head, tail, or legs. The officials can then arrest an illegal hunter who shoots at the decoy — and the mechanized animal can go on its merry, robotic way.

Without using decoys, "To have a poacher, a wild animal and a law enforcement officer at the same scene, it's like winning the lottery,” the Custom Robotic Wildlife owner Brian Wolslegel said. Plus, if the poacher gets caught, "the animal already died in the process."

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But undead robots can still look real and alive, even after being shot 100 times. That is in part because they are filled with Styrofoam, so bullets pass through their cores without any problem. If the motor gets hit, it's replaceable. Law enforcement can make up to $30,000 in fines off each robot.

However, because the robots are outfitted in actual animal skins, they can look a little creepy to the knowing eye. Watch below. Jeva Lange