But when bees swarm — and African bees swarm aggressively — hundreds of bees might sting an elephant in its most sensitive areas, the trunk, mouth and eyes. In recent years, researchers and advocates have persuaded farmers to use the elephant’s fear of bees as a potential fence line to protect crops. It’s the first step toward showing that the control strategy can also work in countries like Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and Thailand, where Asian elephants are 10 times more endangered than their African cousins. Advertisement Continue reading the main story[READ: Hunt Elephants to Save Them? The Asian elephants also sometimes slapped their trunks against the ground in fear.

Source: New York Times January 26, 2018 18:56 UTC