A beehive fence is a
fence
A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length.
...
which is built to deter
elephants based on their natural fear of
bees.
The fence is set up off the ground at chest height and contains hives spaced every 10 metres. If an elephant disturbs the fence, then the hives shake and the bees become agitated, and the elephants are deterred. Elephants communicate the presence of bees to other elephants and thus they tend to avoid the area.
The approach has been largely successful, reducing conflict between humans and elephants by up to 85%.
Beehive fences were invented by
Lucy King a worker at
Save the Elephants, who noticed that elephants avoided
acacia tree
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus ...
s that had bee colonies. The inventor received the 2013
St. Andrews Prize for the Environment.
References
{{reflist
Mammal pest control
Elephants
Beekeeping
Fences