Beeing Elephants
Mass property damage, crop raids, constant fear, death and dying — no, this is not the next Marvel blockbuster, this is human-elephant conflict (HEC). And plot twist, the solution might be smaller and fuzzier than you think — it’s bees. Coming in at .00025 lbs., bees have shown elephants they know how to punch above their weight class. Ph.D. researcher and founder of Bring the Elephant Home Foundation, Antoinette van de Water is demonstrating how beehive fences can be a valuable method in reducing HEC. It’s got some buzz.
Gentle, Destructive Giants
Elephants are widely considered to be charismatic — until they ruin your crops for the season. HEC is a preeminent problem in Africa and Asia, and it’s only getting worse. Severe habitat loss is forcing elephants to scavenge for resources outside of protected areas, resulting in damage and death on all scales; it’s a pervasive issue that complicates the conservation of elephants (an endangered species), and preservation of human wellbeing.
Electric fences, fire, gunshots, are all intensive methods being deployed to divert elephants. In come the bees. Dr. van de Water and her team created a “fence” of beehives surrounding a farm that, upon disturbance, triggers the hives to open and repel the nosy giant. If the buzzing doesn’t deter the elephants, a benign sting — one they don’t habituate to — usually does.
Making Buzz
Researching in four rural villages in Thailand, Dr. van de Water set out to do two things. One, evaluate attitudes towards elephants as well as the prevalence of HEC. Two, test the effectiveness of bee fences as an elephant deterrent.
The research team surveyed locals with a questionnaire regarding their experiences with and attitudes towards elephants before and after installing the fences. As for the fences themselves, the team lined farmland with customized hives and camera traps. They also instructed locals on proper hive upkeep.
The Proof is in the Honey
Seventeen months later and things are still abuzz. Several busy bees and hours of footage later, Dr. van de Water found that the fence deterred nearly 90% of individual elephants and about 65% of elephant groups. While there isn’t data on the efficacy of traditional methods, these results import significance. Perhaps more importantly, the farmers reported starkly different experiences and attitudes regarding the elephants. Prior to the fences, the majority of households noted regular negative impacts from elephants. Post-interview, the farm not only experienced a gross reduction in damage, it generated additional revenue in honey and hive sales as well as skills development. Suddenly, the farm went from experiencing damage by elephants every night to one to two times a month. This decrease in altercations and increase in optimism remained consistent throughout the study. Essentially, these beehive fences made a difference.
Truncated Problems
HEC is more than some lost crops and determined elephants, it’s the loss of livelihoods and the endangerment of a waning species. With increased disturbance, those affected feel less supportive of conservation and even retaliatory. While beehive fences don’t address the habitat loss causing elephant unrest, they address this need for humane and feasible conflict resolution.
The beehive fence not only massively reduced disturbance and damage, it generated supplemental income and positive attitudes towards elephants. It also empowers farmers by enabling them to mitigate the conflict themselves rather than rely on external support. Historically, community-based conservation has been a linchpin to conservation successes; incorporating the locals as part of the solution, not to mention providing an added benefit, has garnered active engagement. That being said, these fences usher rewards beyond the tangible benefits; the research highlights pronounced feelings of security, contentment, and confidence that aggregate as increased social cohesion, tolerance, and coexistence with elephants. It’s comprehensive, it’s sustainable, and it shows results.
However, all that’s honey is not gold. Substantial finances are required for wide-scale application, both in construction and in training. It’s also labor-intensive, as maintenance of the hives is compulsory. With this in mind, it can be difficult for larger farms to implement the fences, as enclosing larger perimeters require even greater financial and physical efforts. Moreover, the results of this study are preliminary; further research should be conducted with more controls and larger sample sizes of farms. There’s more work to be done.
That being said, there’s no “one solution” to HEC. Like most — if not all — conservation issues, there are caveats and trade-offs to every method; the solution requires the integration of several different approaches and methods. This includes, but is not limited to, conflict mitigation, habitat protection, and ecological corridors. Nonetheless, the abatement of HEC is worthy on all scales, as it means safeguarding the vulnerable on both ends. These fences realize a need for integrated, sustainable solutions that both mitigate damage by elephants and enhance their value for locals. Pretty sweet deal.
References
van de Water, A, King, LE, Arkajak, R, et al. Beehive fences as a sustainable local solution to human‐elephant conflict in Thailand. Conservation Science and Practice. 2020; 2:e260. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.260
Originally published in Student Conservation Corner on November 22, 2021.
