In 2024, study found how 365 beehives helped Kenyan farmers keep elephants away from crops

In the farming communities bordering Kenya’s Tsavo East National Park, encounters between elephants and farmers can become a serious challenge. Elephants often move through the landscape in search of food and water, and cultivated fields can attract them when crops are growing.

A nine-year study published in 2024 found that a simple nature-based approach, placing working beehives around farms, could help reduce elephant crop raids without harming the animals.

The idea relies on elephants' natural tendency to avoid disturbed honey bees, particularly when the insects swarm around sensitive areas of their face. However, the research also showed that the method has limitations. Its effectiveness depends heavily on maintaining healthy bee colonies and adapting the fences to changing environmental conditions.

How 365 Beehives Helped Deter Elephants

The study, published in Conservation Science, examined the “Impact of drought and development on the effectiveness of beehive fences as elephant deterrents over 9 years in Kenya”. Researchers recorded 3,999 elephant encounters around farms in two villages near Tsavo East National Park. Over the nine-year period, the beehive fences deterred an average of 76.04% of elephants. During the main crop-growing seasons, the average deterrence rate increased to 86.27%, suggesting that the fences could be particularly useful when crops were most vulnerable to elephant raids.

The University of Oxford's Department of Biology also highlighted the findings in 2024, describing beehive fences as a nature-based approach that could help protect both farmers and wildlife.

However, researcher Dr Lucy King warned that “increased habitat disturbance or more frequent droughts could reduce the effectiveness” of the method.

Why Do Elephants Avoid Beehive Fences?

A beehive fence consists of working beehives positioned around a farm and connected with wires. When an elephant pushes against the fence, the movement can shake the hives and disturb the bees.

The sound and activity of disturbed bees can encourage elephants to retreat. The method therefore uses the animals' natural response to bees rather than relying on physical barriers or harmful deterrents.

Researchers studied farms in Mwakoma and Mwambiti in the Sagalla community. At one stage, 26 farms were monitored, with each protected plot surrounded by approximately 12 to 15 hives.

Beehives Also Provided Honey Income

The fences offered farmers benefits beyond protecting crops. Bees could pollinate plants and produce honey that could be sold as an additional source of income.

At the height of the project, 365 hives were being used. Over nine years, they produced around one tonne of raw honey, generating approximately US$2,250 for participating farmers. This meant the system could serve two purposes: helping reduce elephant-related crop damage while also providing farmers with a potential livelihood opportunity.

What Did 3,999 Elephant Encounters Show?

Between June 2012 and December 2020, researchers documented 675 crop-raiding events involving 3,999 elephant encounters. Of these, 1,007 elephants, or 25.18%, managed to break through the beehive fences and enter protected sections of farms. The remaining encounters largely ended with elephants staying outside the protected areas or entering control sections.

Overall, the fences recorded an average annual deterrence rate of 76.04%. During six peak crop-growing seasons, the average effectiveness rose to 86.27%, although results differed from one season to another.

The researchers also found that small improvements to the fence could make a difference. Some farms initially had gaps near houses, which elephants could use to enter without disturbing the hives. Farmers later added strips of tin cans containing stones to close these openings and create additional noise.

After the gaps were closed, entries through these points dropped substantially.

The study summarised its findings by stating: “Beehive fences are very effective at reducing up to 86.3% of elephant crop-raids during peak crop seasons after good rainfall.”

How Drought Affected the Beehive Fences

One of the most important findings from the study was the impact of drought on bee colonies. After rainfall failed in late 2016, the study area received only 288 millimetres of rain in 2017, compared with an average of around 691 millimetres during the other eight years. As a result, the number of active bee colonies fell sharply. During the drought year, only 20.29% of 350 hives were occupied by bees at least once.

The situation was complicated because poor rainfall also reduced crop growth, making the farms less attractive to elephants. Therefore, the relatively high deterrence rate recorded during the drought could not simply be attributed to the effectiveness of empty or weak hives.

Weak Bee Colonies Reduced Protection After the Drought

The following season demonstrated why healthy colonies were important.

Good rainfall resulted in better crop growth, making farms more attractive to elephants. However, bee colonies had not fully recovered from the drought. Between November 2018 and January 2019, researchers recorded 1,833 elephant encounters. Hive occupation had recovered to only 28.2%, while 28.4% of approaching elephants managed to break through the fences.

The deterrence rate during that peak season dropped to 71.8%, the lowest recorded across the six main crop-growing seasons.

Researchers described the combination of conditions as a “perfect storm”, involving weakened bee colonies, large elephant groups and productive crops following good rainfall.

Honey Production Also Fell During the Drought

The drought affected not only elephant deterrence but also the economic benefits of the beehives.

During the three years before the drought, 338 hives produced 812.37 kilograms of honey. In the three years following the drought, production fell to 187.68 kilograms, despite more hives being available.

Across the entire nine-year period, honey production reached approximately 1,000.1 kilograms, providing around US$2,250 in income to the participating farmers.

Why Beehive Fences Are Not a Complete Solution

The study suggests that beehive fences can be a useful non-lethal tool for reducing human-elephant conflict, particularly during important crop-growing periods. However, researchers emphasised that the method should be part of a broader approach rather than treated as a standalone solution.

The system depends on healthy and active bee colonies, which can themselves be affected by drought, rainfall, flowering plants and wider environmental changes.

Researchers warned that worsening drought could make beehive fences “a less versatile solution to HEC” in the future.

What the Nine-Year Study Shows

The findings offer a more balanced picture of beehive fences. When bee colonies are healthy and fences are properly maintained, they can significantly reduce elephant incursions while providing farmers with honey and potential additional income. At the same time, the study shows that nature-based solutions require regular maintenance and must be adapted to changing environmental conditions.

The research, conducted by Save the Elephants in collaboration with the Wildlife Research and Training Institute, Kenya Wildlife Service and the University of Oxford, concluded that beehive fences can form part of a wider set of measures available to small-scale farmers.

The nine-year evidence ultimately shows that the approach is neither a guaranteed fix nor ineffective. Its success depends on keeping the bees healthy, maintaining the fences and accounting for changes in rainfall, crops, habitat and elephant behaviour.

[With TOI inputs]