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A herd of elephants feeds around the water point in the late afternoon at Pendjari National Park in Benin on January 10, 2018. AFP photo
TAMPA: The Elephants never forget a bee sting. The soft tissues inside their trunks are particularly vulnerable to painful stings, and experts believe that African elephants (Loxodonta africana) have learned over the centuries how to recognize the odors released by bees when they are in danger. they are frightened and ready to swarm. this well-honed fear of bees could be used to help repel the majestic beasts in places where they risk conflict with humans.
During a three-month field test at Greater Kruger National Park, scientists hung white socks filled with bees. pheromones, which are chemical cues that bees release from their bodies when they perceive a threat to their hive.
A total of 25 of the 29 elephants that approached "showed typical signs of increased alerts," says the report in the journal Current Biology.
To ensure that this n & # 39; 39 was not just the socks but the smell that came out of it, the researchers hung similar socks that did not contain pheromones socks, and found that elephants were curious about socks
Since some farmers in Africa are already placing commercial bee hives along their fences to protect their crops from elephants, the results "Our results complement previous studies that have demonstrated that active hives of bees can deter elephants from feeding for example, but can be difficult to implement on a large scale, "said the main author. Wright Wright, professor of entomology at the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences of the University of Hawaii at Manoa
"We hope to expand this work to develop additional tools for sustainable development. passive management of elephant movements, to augment the current approaches used. "- AFP
Tags Bee Borneo BorneoPost conflict Daily elephants humans Malaysia News online prevent repel Sarawak scent study
