Here's the Buzz!
Crop growers in Kenya have beat drums, fired crackers, clanged pots, yelled, waved their arms and put up electric fencing they can't afford. They even tried red-hot chili pepper sauce, all to no avail. To get to crops, hungry pachyderms have been known to flattened homes and entire villages. They trample bystanders and attack farmers desperately trying to protect their livelihoods. Farmers have exhausted ideas and themselves using whatever means they have at their disposal to stop herds from annihilating their harvest. Still, these giants continue to cause huge amounts of damage. Unfortunately, the increasing clash between humans and elephants often end in death for these Goliaths.
For a long time, it looked like a no win situation
That is, until Lucy King, a zoologist from Oxford University and an interested group of researchers began to connect the dots between elephants and African bees a few years ago. They started with reports from different sources that clearly indicated elephants and these ill-tempered bees don’t mix. For example: scientists in Zimbabwe observed elephants going as far as foraging new trails to avoid bee hives, and at least one game warden reported a large bull elephant going berserk after bees flew up inside his trunk. Bees attack elephants behind their ears and around their eyes where the skin is most sensitive. It appears elephants would rather not encounter African honey bees and will go to almost any length to see their paths do not cross. Apparently, the memory of such nasty confrontations are enough that even the very sound of angry bees can drive elephants away in a matter of seconds.
"If we could use bees to reduce elephant crop-raiding and tree destruction and enhance local income through the sale of honey, this could be a significant step forward towards sustainable human-elephant coexistence," said Lucy.
Enter the Angry Bees
It all started back in 1956 when scientists from Brazil in an attempt to produce a honey bee more suited to tropical climates through a controlled breeding program. Then in 1957, some of the bees escaped quarantine and began their own breeding program. The naturally aggressive bees proved to be quite prolific and spread throughout South and Central America at the rate of about 200 miles per year.
Agitated African bees will often attack animals and humans with little to no provocation. The attacks can last up to 24 hours and occur as far as a quarter mile from the hive. So, when Lucy King and her team discovered a wild hive and wanted to test their theory, it was a tricky proposition to say the least. They dressed in traditional bee suits and armed with a microphone in hand, set out to record the sounds of bees in attack mode.
Lucy tossed a stone into the tree trunk and out came the bees!
"This partially worked but the bees were so aggressive that even with our bee suits on we got swarmed with bees and didn't hold the microphone very straight for very long! We retreated a bit too fast!" King said.
Finally, Lucy and the team rigged a make shift platform in front of the hive and secured a directional microphone and recorder.
"I dropped a stone into the hive to trigger the attack and then we ran like hell back to my Land Rover and sealed ourselves inside for a good 15 minutes while the bees did our recording for us."
Seventeen elephant families got to hear a 4-minute segment of that recording. It triggered the matriarch in sixteen of the herds to sound an alarm and the bands of elephants quickly dispersed. Only one of the herds, a group of young males, had no reaction. Wildlife biologists theorize without a matriarch to alarm them, they may not have had any idea the bees were dangerous.
"The hope now is to use beehives to deter elephant herds from human farmland and therefore contribute to a safer future for both elephants and the people who have to live with them," said Ms. King.
What a perfect example of working with nature to help save elephants. Ms. King, I bow to your ingenuity and applaud your compassion!
Below, you’ll find a link to the Guardian (UK) and video footage thoughtfully provided by Lucy King. It’s well worth a look.
