
Elephants Are Scared of Bees - dnetesn
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/science/bees-elephants-.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront
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cheriot
The owner of a safari camp showed me the line of beehives around their
property. They were adding a new hive because the gap between two was big
enough and elephants got in. Pachyderms also motivated the row of chili
peppers around their garden.

Just in case you're wondering, there are specific plants that elephants
prefer. If anyone wants to move to Africa and plant an elephant garden
surrounded by a butterfly garden, please invite me.

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danso
Interesting article in the "Related" section of the OP; apparently, mosquitos
can "learn" that they should stay away when attempts are made to swat them:

[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/science/swatting-
mosquito...](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/science/swatting-
mosquitoes.html)

> _Some blood meals are worth a mosquito risking its life. But if there’s a
> more attractive or accepting alternative to feed from, a mosquito may move
> on to that someone or something instead. That’s because if you keep trying
> and missing, the mosquito may learn to associate your swatting vibrations
> with your scent, a study published Thursday in Current Biology suggests. And
> it just may remember: This is not a person who will tolerate me_

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hawktheslayer
I would think that if elephants are smart enough to learn that recorded
buzzing is not a threat then they will also learn that the fake hives don't
pose a threat.

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denzil_correa
Apparently, they did use recordings and it did have effect on the elephants in
Sri Lanka.

> we used a recording of a disturbed hive of cavity-dwelling Asian honey bees
> (Apis cerana indica) and conducted sound playbacks to 120 wild elephants in
> 28 different groups resting under trees in Uda Walawe National Park in Sri
> Lanka. Elephants responded by moving significantly further away from their
> resting site in bee playback trials compared to controls. Elephants also
> increased vocalization rates, as well as investigative and reassurance
> behaviours in response to bee sounds, but did not display dusting or
> headshaking behaviour

[http://www.cell.com/current-
biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)3...](http://www.cell.com/current-
biology/fulltext/S0960-9822\(17\)31649-4)

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dlevine
It worked in the short term since elephants weren't expecting to be fooled.
But it is possible that if they hear the sound of buzzing enough times without
seeing any bees, they will start to disregard it.

Fear of bees is clearly a learned behavior in elephants.

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randomdrake
Study: Wild Sri Lankan elephants retreat from the sound of disturbed Asian
honey bees

Citation: King, Lucy; Pardo, Michael; Weerathunga, Sameera; Kumara, T.V;
Jayasena, Nilimini; Soltis, Joseph; de Silva, Shermin; Cell Current Biology
Vol 28, Issue 2 January 2018.

Link:
[https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.12.018](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.12.018)

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.12.018

Summary: Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are threatened primarily by habitat
loss and human–elephant conflict. In addition to establishing protected areas
and corridors for wildlife, empowering farmers to protect their crops is
crucial for Asian elephant conservation. Elephants can habituate to artificial
deterrents, hence natural biological alternatives are of great interest.
African elephants (Loxodonta africana) avoid African honey bees (Apis
mellifera scutellata), inspiring ‘beehive fences’ as a successful means of
small-scale crop protection. Here, we used a recording of a disturbed hive of
cavity-dwelling Asian honey bees (Apis cerana indica) and conducted sound
playbacks to 120 wild elephants in 28 different groups resting under trees in
Uda Walawe National Park in Sri Lanka. Elephants responded by moving
significantly further away from their resting site in bee playback trials
compared to controls. Elephants also increased vocalization rates, as well as
investigative and reassurance behaviours in response to bee sounds, but did
not display dusting or headshaking behaviour.

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beisner
Well, I guess I’m an elephant then.

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abrowne
Necessary not sufficient.

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freedomben
All I can think of is the classic Oprah bees meme:

[https://media.giphy.com/media/dcubXtnbck0RG/200w.gif](https://media.giphy.com/media/dcubXtnbck0RG/200w.gif)

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serf
[http://www.beesbeesbees.com](http://www.beesbeesbees.com) has been one of my
favorite 'joke-domains' for some time now.

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adamnemecek
You guys should check out
[https://reddit.com/r/babyelephantgifs](https://reddit.com/r/babyelephantgifs)
for a daily dose of adorable pachyderms!

