08.11.2024

Oriental Elephants Avoid Bees

Playbacks have been used for many years to explore the behavioral reactions of African elephants to a thought all-natural hazard, however the study is the first time this method has actually been utilized to tape just how Asian elephants respond to the noise of bees.

For the first time, research has shown that Asian elephants are scared of honey bees. Like their equivalents in Africa, they respond with alarm system, a searching for that will certainly help solve conflict in between human beings and also crop-raiding elephants.

For the very first time, scientists have actually revealed that Asian elephants in Sri Lanka are terrified of honey , much like their African equivalents. A brand-new study, published in Current Biology, utilized playbacks to reveal that Asian elephants reacted with alarm to the bee simulations, pulling away from the audio and vocalising. The results could have substantial influence on initiatives to solve human-wildlife problem in the country by deterring the elephants from crop-raiding.

The research, led by Dr Lucy King, a Research Associate with the Oxford University Department of Zoology and also head of the Human-Elephant Co-Existence Programme for Save the Elephants, showed that Asian elephants reacted with alarm system to the simulations. They also pulled back dramatically additionally away and also vocalised more in action to the seems contrasted to controls.

In partnership with elephant researchers from Cornell University, Save the Elephants, Trunks as well as Leaves, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and also University of Peradeniya the group now hope that beehive deterrents, used so effectively to fend off African elephants from rural ranch lands, can be put on protect against Asian elephant populations from raiding crops.

Dr King stated: “Asia has even higher degrees of human-elephant conflict than Africa does and Asian elephants are approximately 10 times extra threatened than African elephants. If we can assist use the results from this research to develop reliable community-based beehive fence deterrent systems for country Asian farmers living with elephants, we could have a considerable impact on the survival of the Asian elephant species.”

The study was performed in Udawalawe National Park, which has a remarkably large elephant populace. “Udawalawe is a microcosm for the concerns Asian elephants face, since it is almost encircled by farming and negotiations. This study takes the first step in supplying a brand-new way of addressing the problems that develop consequently,” said Dr. Shermin de Silva, Director of the Udawalawe Elephant Research Project.

In collaboration with the Sri Lankan Wildlife Conservation Society and Australia’s Newcastle University, a network of 10 trial beehive fence tasks are presently being examined to see if they can decrease human-elephant dispute for country ranches in central Sri Lanka.

“We have a fantastic area of willing farmers there who are aiding us recognize if beehive fencings can work to lower dispute in this intensely high human-elephant dispute zone,” says Dr King. “Although beehive fencings might not entirely quit elephant crop-raids the honey provide various other advantages to the ranches in the kind of pollination solutions as well as a sustainable revenue from honey as well as wax products.”

The initiative is already gathering honey from the beehives and four beekeeping workshops have actually been held to boost beekeeping expertise as well as honey handling abilities. Further Asian beehive fencing cooperations are being developed with researchers in Thailand, India as well as Nepal.

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