Bee fences helping keep elephants away from human territory

The method has been proved to be a harmless way of reducing human-elephant conflicts

New Delhi: Project RE-HAB, which uses honey bee boxes as fences to keep elephants away, has successfully helped reduce conflicts between humans and the animal without causing any harm, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) said on Saturday. Announcing the success of the project launched on March 15, the KVIC added that it will be replicated in states reporting elephant attacks on human habitation.

“At a time when state governments are spending crores of rupees on digging trenches and creating other physical barriers to prevent elephant attacks, KVIC’s innovative Project RE-HAB (Reducing Human – Elephant Attacks using Bees) has proven to be an extremely cost-effective and harmless way of reducing human-elephant conflicts,” the commission said in a statement.

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Its chairman, Vinai Kumar Saxena, said trenches, rail fencing, spiked pillars, electric fences and electric wire curtains are not only ineffective but has also ended up killing elephants in the most tragic ways. “Project RE-HAB, on the other hand, is cost-effective and causes no harm to the elephants. It will also have multi-pronged benefits. This will reduce human-elephant conflicts, increase farmers’ income through beekeeping, address climate change, regenerate forest cover and ensure food security for wild animals in their natural habitats,” he added, urging state governments to implement it.

Apart from Karnataka, states like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are severely affected by wild elephant attacks. Using bee boxes as a fence to prevent elephants from entering a human habitation is effective as the animals generally fear that the honey bees might sting them in the eyes and the inner side of the trunk. Also, the buzz of the bees irritates the elephants, the KVIC said.