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Innovative Way Against Wild Elephants Destroying Farms At Night |
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by George Zacharia | 26-01-2018 00:51
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The village I am introducing to you today is, Mayilattumpara, in Thrissur district of Kerala, India.
This village is home to many farmers who solely depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Till a few years ago, none of them could sleep soundly at night. Throughout the night when the slept, they had only one thing in mind, which kept them from sleeping, Invasion from Wild Elephants. Elephants are glorious, majestic creatures. If a herd of elephants come by over your farm, the farm's bound to get destroyed. The villagers tried many things, using solar power run electric fences or planting shrubs with supposed repellent qualities. But, none of them proved to be effective. One after the other, the residents kept on giving up farming. But the situation has turned around in the past year. Now people in Mayilattumpara are no longer disturbed by elephants. Instead they are agreeably surprised by visiting herds of journalists, scientists and environmentalists. That?s because residents have finally figured out what repels elephants: honey bees. A wire fence strung with beehives now stretches 2.5 km (1.5 miles) along the border of 18 village farms. The hives, hanging every 10 metres along the wire, are populated with Italian honey bees bred in Kerala. Elephants, it turns out, are frightened of loudly buzzing bees and their ferocious stings. When elephants try to pass the wire fence, angry bees swarm out and the elephants quickly flee, residents say. And so, not only the farms are saved, but this has opened a yet another way of income for the farmer, "Honey"! This has the potential to bring in up to Rs 65,000 for each farmer, allowing for a substantial profit even after the costs of maintaining the hives. This project has been done in forests in Africa too. A lot of studies are also going on too. The Government of Kerala is working to reduce conflict between man and elephants by reducing deforestation, etc. We hope farmers across the world take a good example and follow sustainable practices in farming, etc. Regards, George Zacharia Reference: https://scroll.in/article/865959/keralas-farmers-have-found-a-unique-way-to-keep-marauding-elephants-away-scaring-them-with-bees https://www.ndtv.com/kerala-news/with-beehive-fence-keralas-farmers-tell-marauding-elephants-to-buzz-off-1803207
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5 Comments
Thank you for sharing!
Posted 31-01-2018 18:25
A very good way to protect from elephants without harming them.
Posted 29-01-2018 17:40
achha hai
Posted 29-01-2018 17:38
Hi, George! The idea of the beehive fence was very interesting to read about. I think this was a very creative idea, one that is environmentally friendly, doesn't require electric power, and is profitable as well! I sure hope that the stings of the Italian honey bees aren't too powerful, and that most of the elephant-repelling effect comes from the buzzing sounds. Thanks for your report!
Posted 27-01-2018 00:34
Seems to be an innovative idea. I hope elephants are not harmed. Thanks for sharing.
Posted 26-01-2018 04:50