'Bee fence' to ease human-elephant conflict
The Serengeti national park in Tanzania are using bees to reduce escalating tensions with elephants.
The Serengeti national park in Tanzania are using bees to reduce escalating tensions with elephants that anger locals by stamping on their crops.
The Guardian reports that a fence made of beehives is being constructed around a one-acre farm near to the Ngorongoro conservation area as part of a pilot project to see if the bees will deter elephants that wander on to cropland.
It is hoped that the 'bee fence' concept, which has already been used in Botswana and Kenya, will help to reduce conflict in Tanzania.
The project is the brainchild of zoologist Dr Lucy King, with the Tanzanian pilot funded via a $6,000 grant from the Ian Somehalder Foundation.
Speaking to the Guardian, Dr Hayley Adams, a US Veterinary Surgeon who is working on the project, said: “Elephants are highly cognitive so if they have been stung before, you’ll see an extreme reaction to the sound of bees. It’s a cliche but elephants have good memories. Some of the younger elephants don’t realize and get stung on their ears, which are very sensitive, so they remember to not go near there again.”
She added that if the trial is successful, then it may be expanded across the region. This would not only benefit the local community by reducing tensions with elephants, but it would also supply them with honey for sale or consumption.
“This is far better than firing in the air or using sticks to hit elephants, which just makes them aggressive,” she said. “We need an holistic approach that benefits both people and elephants.”
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
