Faced with finding a solution to human-wildlife conflict, researcher Lucy King, head of the human-elephant coexistence program at Kenya-based conservation group Save the Elephants, found bees were the answer. When elephants raid crops, it causes financial loss to the farmers and potential harm to the elephants. King learned that when elephants heard the distinctive sound of bees, they rounded up their herd and quickly moved away. So beehive fences were employed.
Researchers: Bees Help Kenyan Farmers Fend Off Elephants
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Elephants and Bees Project research center coordinator Matthew Rudolph shows notes taken to document effectiveness of beehive fences used by 22 farmers in the Taita-Taveta area, Kenya, April 19, 2016.
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Elephants and Bees Project research center coordinator Matthew Rudolph shows a jar of honey that came from beehives at Charity Mwangome’s farm, in Taita-Taveta area, Kenya, April 19, 2016.
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One of the hives that make up a beehive fence at Charity Mwangome's farm in Taita-Taveta area of Kenya, April 19, 2016.
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Charity Mwangome, holding her grandson, uses a beehive fence to protect her crops from elephants, on her farm in Taita-Taveta area, Kenya, April 19, 2016.