In Kenya, Maasai farmers have discovered that the best way to keep elephants away isn’t fences or loud noises but bees.
Beehives placed along the edges of farms have proven an effective and affordable solution to deter elephants from encroaching on farmland.
Elephants have highly sensitive trunks, which makes them wary of bee stings. This fear is enough to keep most herds away, leading farmers in Shompole to paint their beehives bright yellow so they stand out.
An aerial survey conducted in 2019 found that Shompole, located in the Great Rift Valley, is home to about 350 elephants, with around 250 belonging to one extended family.
Elephants are key players in Africa’s savannah ecosystem. They help shape the landscape by clearing woodlands, creating pathways, and forming habitats for other animals and birds.
However, their enormous appetites and need for large quantities of water bring them into conflict with local farmers.
Elephants can spend 12-18 hours searching for food and consume up to 330 pounds of vegetation and 50 gallons of water daily.
“With wildlife habitats shrinking and droughts becoming more severe, elephants are increasingly competing with humans for limited resources,” says Dr. Jenny Cousins from the Worldwide Fund For Nature (WWF).
To mitigate these conflicts, WWF fits elephants with tracking collars. “Tracking their movements helps us direct our efforts more effectively,” Dr. Cousins explains.
It also allows conservationists to learn about individual elephants and identify those frequently raid farms, like Ivy, a bold matriarch known for her nighttime crop raids.
Ivy often hides during the day and sneaks into farms under darkness. She’s notorious for stealing about 80% of her food, putting her at risk of retaliation from local farmers.
In contrast, other elephants, like Fred—a gentle, elderly male with impressive tusks—prefer natural vegetation over farmed crops.
Tressa, another notable elephant, is a friendly 36-year-old in a large family group in the Maasai Mara. She’s known for her calm demeanor and willingness to let vehicles approach her.
Thanks to GPS collars, conservationists can monitor these elephants using an iPhone app, contributing to a broader effort that has seen elephant populations in the area more than double to 2,500 over the past 36 years.
Educational programs have played a significant role in this success by teaching local communities the importance of elephants to Kenya’s future, and poaching has significantly declined in some areas.
WWF’s conservation initiatives include building elephant-proof water towers and supporting local communities with practical solutions.
Albert Kuseyo, a conservationist with WWF partner SORALO, grew up in Shompole but never saw a wild elephant until he was 34. Now, he teaches farmers how to coexist safely with these animals and oversees the beehive project.
The beehives not only keep elephants away but also provide a new source of income for local farmers through honey sales. If Ivy wants to avoid a bee sting, she must find her next meal elsewhere.
Read more Elephant News.
