'Beehive fence' deters elephants

'Beehive fence' deters elephants : SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE
A simple fence made from wood, wire and beehives can deter elephants from raiding farmers' crops. A pilot study in Kenya has shown that such fences reduce the number of raids by elephants by almost half. The work is the culmination of previous research which showed elephants are naturally scared of African honey bees.

A much larger trial is now under way in the hope the fences will provide an elegant solution to years of conflict between elephants and farmers. In Kenya, elephants are not confined to national parks or reserves. As they roam, they often come across increasing numbers of farms created by pastoralists who are being encouraged to settle down and grow crops.

The elephants break into the farms and raid them for food such as ripe tomatoes, potatoes and maize. That causes significant economic damage and conflict with farmers who occasionally resort to shooting, spearing or poisoning elephants to protect their livelihoods and families.
So researchers from a British university worked with the charity Save the Elephants to conduct a pilot study of a novel "beehive fence". The design is based on the idea that elephants are wary of honey bees in the wild. In 2002, University of Oxford zoologist Fritz Vollrath discovered that elephants avoided trees with beehives in. Colleague Lucy King followed this idea up by showing that elephants would quickly move on even if they heard the sound of a buzzing hive.
Now a team led by King, including Vollrath, has taken the idea to its logical conclusion - the creation of a fence containing beehives. In the Ex-Erok community in the southern region of Laikipia, Kenya, the team recruited farmers whose crops were regularly raided by elephants. Around the side of one farm, nine traditional log beehives were hung under small thatched roofs, with each being linked by wire. In all, the fence continued for 90m with each hive 10m apart. The hives were left empty.