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Achievement Report Karongwe August 2017

Report Title
Can you beelieve it!

Objective
To contribute to wider-reaching conservation and research efforts, and develop valuable partnerships.

Report
One of the most exciting developments at GVI Karongwe this year has been the beginnings of a partnership
with the conservation and research organisation Elephants Alive. Elephants Alive have been active for almost
two decades, conducting research on elephant behaviour and ways to reduce human-elephant conflict. Their
mission to ensure the survival of elephants and their habitats and to promote harmonious co-existence
between man and elephants.

One of their major projects is the study of beehives as a deterrent against elephants to reduce property
damage and human conflict. Despite their small size, honeybees seem quite adept at terrorising elephants.
Structures such as beehive fences perimeter wires with beehives attached at points along their length, which
swing and release irate bees when the wire is disturbed make elephants turn tail and run. Elephants Alive are
studying this effect and comparing it to other methods of preventing elephant damage. In their study area are
a number of marula trees, which are either protected with wire mesh around their trunks, host to a bee hive,
smeared with chilli or left natural and empty. The researchers monitor these trees to see which suffer the least
elephant damage. So far, overwhelmingly, the beehive trees.

The major issue with the beehives is supporting the colonies during the cool winter months when flowers are
absent. So twice a week a field researchers from Elephants Alive must visit every hive to assess it, and
distribute sugar water and pollen to the bees. GVI have been helping with this labour intensive task for the
past couple of months. For Elephants Alive it is a few extra hands to help complete the work more quickly, and
for GVI staff and interns its an opportunity to learn about and contribute to a different form of conservation
research, outside of what we do ourselves on Karongwe.

Please visit http://elephantsalive.org/ to learn more about this exciting discovery and its developments.

Beehives hanging on a study marula tree. Happy bees feeding on pollen