Beehive fence frightens away elephants

Farmers in Africa have managed to save their crops from elephants by using tiny bees to frighten some of the biggest animals on earth away.

By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
Published: 7:00AM BST 05 Jun 2009

Elephants regularly destroy food crops in Kenya, but because the huge animals are impossible to keep out with fences, locals are forced to shoot the endangered species.

Now a pilot study by Oxford University and Save the Elephants charity has found the one thing elephants seem to be scared of – bees.

A simple beehive fence has been shown to significantly reduce crop raids by elephants. The fence is constructed of beehives suspended on poles and connected by lengths of fencing wire. Elephants avoid the hives and will attempt to push through the wire but this causes the hives to swing violently, prompting an attack of angry bees.

Bees swarm around the elephants' eyes and up their trunks and can even kill calves, as they have thinner hides.

Even when the hives are empty the elephants remember the harm that can be caused by the insects and stay away.

Lucy King of Oxford University's Department of Zoology, said a farm protected by the beehive fence had 86 per cent fewer successful crop raids by elephants and 150 per cent fewer raiding elephants than a control farm without the fence. Farmers are also protected from cattle rustlers and can harvest the honey two or three times a year.

"Our previous research has shown that elephants are scared away by recordings of the buzzing of angry bees," she said. "We designed the beehive fence as an affordable and practical way of applying this knowledge to create a barrier that the elephants would be afraid to cross."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5445588/Beehive-fence-frightens-away-elephants.html