As we grow more men we get less food and habitat. Most of the animals that can eat 'man' is near extinct. He keeps and rears the animals he wants to eat. For this purpose he has a veterinary wing that cares for man's pet animal and pet food. The big animals like the elephants, tigers,cheetahs,lions are still found albeit in minimum numbers. They happen to foray into the human habitations and his farm lands. In many parts of the world this is happening. He calls it as 'man-animal conflict'.
From barbed wires to 'live fence' or trenches he follows innumerable methods to keep him and his farm away from the attacks of these animals. Now a researcher working with Save the elephants has come out with a 'natural way' of handling the 'elephant invasions'.
They are not going to use fireballs or bullets but the simple honey bees. The honey bees are known for their stings. By keeping required boxes of honey bee hives, the farmers can ward off the elephant attacks. Elephants are very sharp in memory. Once stung by these bees they avoid the farm further.
The hives, connected by wires, are hung every 10 meters around the perimeter of a field. The farmers leave wide pathways between their crops so elephants can move past the fences along their migratory routes. If an elephant makes contact with one of the hives or the connecting wires, the beehives all along the fence will swing and release the bees.
Lucy King, a researcher working with Save the Elephants, has spent many years investigating the problems involved in crop protection. Her goal is to find long-term solutions that reduce the frequency of human-elephant conflicts—and that can be financed and managed by local farmers.
As Ms. King looked into the elephants’ habits for any clues to keeping them out of fields planted with crops, she noticed that they tended to avoid acacia trees with active nests of African bees. Elephants, it so happens, are afraid of the bees, and will move away from an area and warn other elephants if they hear bees buzzing nearby.
And so the beehive fence was invented. The fences are simple, inexpensive, and easy for the farmers to build and maintain. The thatched roof over the hives keeps the bees dry in the rain and keeps them from getting overheated in the sun (they get aggressive and eventually leave the hives if they get too hot). The hives are hung at chest height which makes it easy for the farmer to harvest the honey, while also making them highly visible to the elephants.
Beehive Fence Schematic
The hives, connected by wires, are hung every 10 meters around the perimeter of a field. The farmers leave wide pathways between their crops so elephants can move past the fences along their migratory routes. If an elephant makes contact with one of the hives or the connecting wires, the beehives all along the fence will swing and release the bees.
Lucy King and a beehive fence installation
This approach has proven to be extremely effective, reducing crop destruction and human-elephant conflicts by up to 85%. And, according to Lucy King, there’s an added bonus:
Elephant-friendly honey from beehive fences provides additional income for the farmers.
“Not only do low-income farmers benefit from higher yields through reduced damaging crop-raids, but they also benefit from honey production and sales. This diversifies both their income and their food production options as honey is financially valuable, nutritious and does not require refrigeration.”
This is the kind of solution we need more of: easy to implement and manage by local communities, with immediate and long-term benefits. And we’re not the only ones who think so: in February, Lucy King won a 2013 Future for Nature award, and it was just announced on May 3, 2013, that Ms. King and the Elephants and Bees project has been awarded the St. Andrews Prize for the Environment.
Courtesy: http://animals.oreilly.com/elephants-and-bees/
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