Today, 20th May is World Bee Day, a day that highlights the importance of the bee species is to our precious earth, and the severity of the threat of their survival.

It is estimated that bees are responsible for the pollination and therefore, the success of at least one-third of the food that is consumed worldwide.

However, for the team at Jabulani and many other elephant conservationists, bees hold a further value, due to the unexpected effect of bee pheromones on elephants.

We have worked closely together with the Elephant’s Alive team, supporting their ongoing research projects, analysing the possible use of bees as a deterrent for wild elephants that often damage certain tree species unnecessarily.

The research conducted thus far, shows a distinctive reaction by elephants, to the sounds and smell of bees, which they show signs of avoiding.

With further research, there is hope that bees could also help in creating a natural border solution to farmlands and crops, which would help decrease the human-elephant conflict that so often occurs in rural areas.

To read/learn more about the research done at Jabulani, see the following youtube clip and blog links below:

https://jabulanisafari.com/elephants-alive-partner-with-camp-jabulani-on-their-elephant-honeybee-research-project/

https://jabulanisafari.com/jabulani-elephant-herd-instrumental-in-bee-research-project