Honeybees Help Farmers and Elephants Get Along in Kenya

TaiwanPlus News

In Kenya's Tsavo National Park, farmers are using beehive fences to deter crop raids by elephants. The honeybees offer a nature-friendly solution to potentially dangerous clashes with Earth's largest land animals.

Transcript

00:00For years, farmers in this part of Kenya have lived in fear of elephants.

00:09While these elephants are beloved by tourists, they often destroy crops,

00:14and affect the livelihoods of farmers near Tsavo National Park.

00:20A growing elephant population and increasing human encroachment on their habitat

00:25has only made the situation worse.

00:30But now, the soft hum of honeybees is bringing peace to the fields.

01:00These beehive fences are the brainchild of Save the Elephants,

01:05a conservation organization committed to protecting elephants

01:09while supporting local communities.

01:12The concept is simple, yet highly effective.

01:16Each farm is surrounded by a series of connected wires and hanging beehives,

01:22with African honeybees ready to defend their territory.

01:26When the elephants approach the farm and they would like to rain,

01:31they normally push the wire like bees.

01:34The bees will attack the elephants around the ears and the trunk.

01:39Another thing is that once the elephants hear the sound of the bees and the smell,

01:44they run away.

01:47Beyond protecting crops, the bees provide another benefit,

01:51honey, that helps farmers to earn extra income.

01:55The bees help me with my work.

01:59When I am ready, I get money to pay my school fees.

02:09The project has been a game changer,

02:12reducing crop rates by elephants by 86% during peak seasons,

02:17according to a recent study.

02:19But challenges remain.

02:22Kenya's severe droughts, worsened by climate change,

02:25have affected the bees' activity.

02:28And for many subsistence farmers,

02:30the cost of installing these fences remains out of reach.

02:35So the organization is exploring alternatives,

02:39such as metal sheet fences, to help deter elephants.

02:43But for project lead Ewan Brennan,

02:45the bee solution remains the most effective and sustainable option.

02:50I think people are surprised how well they work,

02:52and it's a nice nature-based solution as well.

02:56It's nothing mechanical, there's no electricity involved,

03:00it's literally just beehives.

03:02For local farmers, the birth of the bees is the sweet sound of hope

03:07for a new way to live in harmony with nature's giants.

03:11Ryan Wu and Billy Wu for Taiwan Plus.

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