BEEKEEPING FOR ELEPHANTS

FORGING ALLIANCES BETWEEN ELEPHANTS AND PEOPLE

Community Beehive Fences

📍 UPPER KITETE VILLAGE, MBULUMBULU, ARUSHA REGION, TANZANIA

NO. OF BEEHIVES: 171
LENGTH OF FENCE: 4.25KM
NO. OF FARM ACRES PROTECTING: 420
HONEY HARVESTED SINCE 2021: 554 KGs

Since 2018, Wild Survivors has partnered with PAMS Foundation to support Upper Kitete village with a farmer-managed beehive fence; an innovative and effective method to prevent elephants from raiding farmland that directly borders wild habitat. Farms at the very top of the village run along a 2-metre wide fireline boundary that separates village land from the Northern Highlands Forest Reserve. The forest encircles the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage site home to around 1,000 elephants. Elephants would leave the forest on a nightly basis, to step directly onto farms, causing extensive damage to livelihoods by eating and trampling on crops, and costing farmers their profit to pay for farm guards, tractors and aggressive means of chasing elephants away night after night.

From the first pilot fence of ten beehives on John Michael’s farm, to the 146 beehives extending the length of the fireline to meet the elephant corridor boundary, farmers have been actively engaged, providing crop-raiding alerts to our team, maintaining the fence with our Bee Guardians, and now today, taking ownership of the fence and their honey income.

Elephant crop-raids have reduced by 70% since the completion of the fence to meet the elephant corridor. We are now extending the beehive fence to support the neighbouring village of Kitete with 3km of crop-protection fencing.
We have 2km funded, help us reach the target by sponsoring a beehive with your name inscribed.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Historically, elephants would migrate in large herds from the Ngorongoro Crater through the Highlands forest and across Selela valley to reach Lake Manyara and beyond.

With their routes now restricted to one single 3km-wide corridor that bisects Upper Kitete village, surrounded by a mosaic of farmland that was once the forest floor, elephants are easily drawn to the nutritious wheat, maize and bean crops they meet on their way.

Crop-raiding and farm damage caused by elephants creates conflict with farmers who lose their livelihoods within a matter of minutes. This can lead to retaliation attacks on elephants and opportunities for poaching gangs to easily recruit farmers who have lost their farming income to elephants. We focus on reaching conflict hotspots quickly to prevent further conflict. We do this by listening to the community, evaluating environmental factors, and working together on achievable and sustainable solutions, such as beehive fences, that meet the needs of people and promote meaningful coexistence with elephants.

Did you know, elephants have a fear of bees?

The simple coexistence technique of suspending beehives along a wire fence plays on the elephant’s innate fear of bees, to deter the herbivores from entering farms. This novel solution was first developed by Dr Lucy King at Save The Elephants. Bees target the thin areas of skin on an elephants; their ears, stomach, inside trunk and around their eyes. When elephants push the fence wire, or attempt to cross into farms, the bees are disturbed and will rush out to protect their hive and queen. When realising bees are present, elephants quickly retreat back into the forest. It works.