Growing up in Africa I developed a deep interest in the conservation of both wildlife species and the preservation of natural habitats. Even in my lifetime, I have witnessed the human population in Africa escalate beyond anyone’s predictions. This expansion is encroaching dramatically into traditionally wildlife rich areas forcing large animals like elephants, lions, buffaloes and leopards into smaller and smaller spaces. Six ton elephants have a huge requirement for food and water and naturally migrate in search of sustenance. Their travels bring them directly into conflict with people as new villages, roads, schools, fences, bridges and farms are built over natural wildlife corridors. This human-elephant conflict is becoming particularly serious in Kenya as people are now killing, spearing or poisoning elephants that come onto their land to eat their crops. 

Researchers like myself are now trying to help local governments to both search for solutions to this dilemma and help farmers and families who have lost entire harvests to invading elephants, often suffering stress, damage and sometimes even death.

I work with ‘Save the Elephants’, a research team headed by the elephant expert Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton (OBE). In collaboration with Kenyan Wildlife Service, we are investigating crop-protection methods that can be financed and managed by the farmers themselves to provide long term solutions to human-elephant conflict.

The use of chilli peppers, either as disincentive crop or as a deterrent spray has been pioneered by Osborn in Zimbabwe with promising, albeit limited, success. African bees may be an equally effective alternative to chilli powder while additionally providing economic long-term benefits. Work by Save the Elephants in 2002 investigated elephant damage on acacia trees hosting empty or occupied beehives and demonstrated that trees with hives receive some protection, especially if they were occupied by bees. Anyone who has seen the destruction of trees by elephants in Kenya will appreciate the importance and implications of this study. 

Honey is already harvested in some (but not all) parts of our study site as a low-maintenance/high income crop. The possibility of turning this economically beneficial activity into a crop-raiding deterrent is a highly attractive proposition which complements the emerging strategy of developing farmer-based approaches to self-protection against elephant raids. If verified, this could lead to a countrywide wildlife management strategy to reduce human-elephant conflict in Kenya.

My project explores the use of bee populations in simple wooden beehives as an elephant deterrent and as a social and economic boost to poverty-stricken rural communities through the sustainable harvesting of honey. I’m leading this innovative project as part of my DPhil (PhD) research from Oxford University although I’m based in the Save the Elephants’ research camp in Samburu Game Reserve. My earlier research shows that elephants react to bee sounds with obvious alarm and retreating behaviour (see Publications). I am now working closely with Disney’s Bioacoustic Team in Florida to investigate this behaviour further and together we have discovered that elephants emit an alarm call when confronted by bees. Although my behavioural work continues, I am also looking at the use of live bees as protection around rural farmers fields.

I am supervised by Professor Fritz Vollrath, Dr Anna Lawrence and Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton.

Other projects from our group can be seen at www.oxfordtracking.com

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