(Posted 31st October 2024)
Courtesy of African Elephant News
A ground-breaking, nine-year study has revealed that elephants approaching small-scale farms in Kenya avoid beehive fences housing live honey bees up to 86% of the time during peak crop seasons, helping to reduce human-elephant conflict for local farmers and boost income. The findings, published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice, offer promising insights into using nature-based solutions to protect both livelihoods and wildlife.
The research was conducted as a collaboration between the University of Oxford, the research charity Save the Elephants (STE) the Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI), and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
Beehive fences, introduced in 2007 by STE and KWS, in partnership with the University of Oxford, offer an innovative approach. These fences consist of a series of live beehives strung together between posts, creating a physical, auditory, and olfactory deterrent to elephants. The elephants’ natural fear of being stung keeps them away, while the fences also benefit farmers by providing pollination services and generating income through honey and wax production.
The study monitored 26 farms protected by beehive fences in two villages near Tsavo East National Park, and analysed nearly 4,000 incidents of elephant approaches. Elephants roam freely in and out of the park throughout the year as they look for mates, food, and water, but can be attracted by the smell and nutritional richness of agricultural crops.
During six peak crop-growing seasons (November to January 2014-2020), 3,027 elephants approached the farms and the beehive fences successfully deterred an annual average of 86.3% of elephants from raiding crops. Across all seasons and the entire study period, including a drought, the fences deterred an annual average of 76% of elephants.
Dr Lucy King (Department of Biology, University of Oxford and Save the Elephants), who led the study, highlighted the effectiveness of beehive fences but warned of future risks. ‘Beehive fences are very effective at reducing up to 86.3% of elephant raids when the crops in the farms are at their most attractive, but our results also warn that increased habitat disturbance or more frequent droughts could reduce the effectiveness of this nature-based coexistence method.’
Dr Patrick Omondi, Director of the Wildlife Research and Training Institute, emphasised the importance of continued research and funding for sustainable solutions. ‘Kenya is facing increasing challenges with human-elephant conflict, and solutions like beehive fences empower communities to manage their own farm protection. We need more research and support for nature-based solutions to help our communities live better alongside wildlife.’
The study ‘Impact of drought and development on the effectiveness of beehive fences as elephant deterrents over nine years in Kenya’ has been published in Conservation Science and Practice.
