Beehive fence

A beehive fence is a fence which is built to deter elephants based on their natural fear of bees.[1]

The fence is set up off the ground at chest height and contains hives spaced every 10 metres. If an elephant disturbs the fence, then the hives shake and the bees become agitated, and the elephants are deterred. Elephants communicate the presence of bees to other elephants and thus they tend to avoid the area.[2]

The approach has been somewhat successful, reducing conflict between humans and elephants by 15%.[1]

Beehive fences were invented by Lucy King a worker at Save the Elephants, who noticed that elephants avoided acacia trees that had bee colonies. The inventor received the 2013 St. Andrews Prize for the Environment.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 http://animals.oreilly.com/elephants-and-bees/
  2. ↑ http://elephantsandbees.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Beehive-Fence-Construction-Manual-2012.pdf
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