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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Charity Mwangome walks along the beehive fence she has built at her farm to help protect her crops from elephants, in Taita-Taveta area, Kenya, April 19, 2016.
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Elephants walk toward a watering hole near Tsavo East National Park, Voi, Kenya, April 20, 2016.
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Elephants in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya, April 20, 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.