Beehives that help to reduce human-elephant conflict.
By Tom Barton
When we think of elephants being killed by humans, we tend to think of poaching for ivory. While it is still a major issue, it has thankfully declined steadily since China banned the ivory trade within its borders in 2018. However, elephants increasingly face other, less well-known dangers from humans.
Roughly a billion people in Africa and Asia live in or near elephant habitats. These same regions are experiencing some of the fastest population growth on earth (up to 3.5% per year in some parts of Africa). As human communities grow and spread to new land, they come into increasing contact with wildlife – including elephants.
Elephants, like us, need food and water – lots of it. The average African elephant needs about 150kg of food and 190 litres of water every day! But with only so much to go around, competition with humans for these natural resources inevitably ensues. Droughts and food shortages associated with climate change and environmental destruction make this competition even more fierce. Unsurprisingly, this can be extremely dangerous, for both humans and elephants alike.
Put yourself in the shoes of a farmer living in a small rural community in, say, India or Kenya. You’ve spent months labouring over your crops to feed and support your family. Then one day, a herd of elephants smash through the small fence surrounding your plot (you can’t afford a sturdy electric fence) and destroy your whole harvest. The choice you face is between killing the elephants or sacrificing your harvest. Unfortunately, the choice is an obvious one for many.
Each year in India, at least 100 elephants are killed by rural communities trying to protect their land. The same figure in Kenya is around 120. However, these are only the reported figures. In reality, the numbers are probably much higher. The number of people killed is also significant (about 400 per year in India and about 200 in Kenya between 2010-2017).
The mission of Kenya-based charity Save the Elephants is to, as their name suggests, protect elephants and ensure their long-term survival and well-being as a species. Their ambitious goal and long-term focus means that they have had to come up with a wide range of different strategies and approaches.
Scientific research and monitoring is at the heart of their work. At their research-stations in Samburu and Tsavo in Kenya, they have built and overseen some of the most rigorous research projects ever conducted on elephants as a species. They monitor everything – herd sizes, genetics, migration patterns, birth and death rates, dietary preferences… you name it. However, their research has not been for nothing. It has allowed them to come up with a wide range of different solutions for protecting elephants and the communities that live near and amongst them.
One of their major initiatives is the Human-Elephant Coexistence Toolbox, an illustrated and freely available manual that shares over 80 different methods for reducing the likelihood of conflict with elephants. Each of the methods are backed by local knowledge and Save the Elephants’ extensive research. The strategies are not one-size-fits-all – they vary for different contexts and take into account important things like cost and environmental conditions.
Some of their other approaches include the development of wildlife corridors that allow elephants to bypass human settlements and community engagement projects that educate people about the importance of elephants for ecosystems and landscapes. However, their most interesting and outside-the box solution involves an unlikely partner – bees!
Elephants, for all their size and strength, have one surprising weakness – they are terrified of bees. The sound of buzzing alone can send an elephant retreating. Bees can sting the sensitive areas around an elephant’s eyes, trunk, and ears, and elephants have learned—over generations—to avoid them. Remember, an elephant never forgets!
Recognising an opportunity, Save the Elephants has developed a wonderfully simple method for farmers to protect their land – beehive fences. Wooden posts are connected by wires, and beehives are hung along the wire. When an elephant tries to pass through, it jostles the wire, shaking the hives and unleashing a swarm of bees. The elephants quickly back off.
With a beehive fence installed, farmers no longer have to choose between their own well-being and that of an elephant. But that’s not all. Local communities also benefit from a new source of income by harvesting and selling honey from the bee boxes. Even more importantly, the bees themselves improve the health of surrounding ecosystems by pollinating nearby plants, thereby reducing the likelihood of food shortages for humans, elephants and other species alike.
What began as an experiment has now become a global movement. As of 2024, more than 14,000 beehive fences have been installed across more than 100 locations in 24 elephant-inhabited countries. Countless human and elephant lives have no doubt been saved.
Save the Elephants approach reminds us that human-wildlife conflict isn’t about "good vs. evil." The farmers killing elephants aren’t villains—they’re people who are just trying to survive and provide for their families. Blaming and demonising them solves nothing, but compassion and smart solutions do. Finally, their work also reveals a powerful truth: to protect animals, you must first truly understand them. Without knowing elephants’ fear of bees, we might waste money on destructive electric fences—when the real solution is as simple as a row of bee boxes.