Posted on 06/15/2010 12:26:26 AM PDT by nickcarraway
It is said that elephants are afraid of mice, but scientists have discovered what elephants are really afraid of: bees.
It turns out that the enormous mammals sound an alarm when they encounter bees, and that knowledge could help save African farmers' crops from elephants -- and could save elephants, too.
Elephants and humans don't always live well together, particularly in African countries including Kenya. A single hungry elephant can wipe out a family's crops overnight. During the harvest season, farmers will huddle by fires all night, and when an elephant comes near, they will jump up with flaming sticks while their children bang on pots and pans.
But not all fields can be guarded, and the elephants aren't always frightened off. Sometimes, farmers kill elephants to protect their crops. Rampaging elephants have also killed people.
But bees could help end all that, said Lucy King, who studies animal behavior and published a study on the subject. King did two experiments. In the first, she played recorded bee sounds near elephants, and the elephants took off. But the researchers also noticed that even elephants in the distance, away from the recorded bee sound, also moved away. That suggested elephants could communicate an alarm that humans could not hear.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Here we go.. More killer bee experiments.
Beelephants or Elephabees, which will it be?
Wow. and I was worried about the birds eating my cherries.
Given that this is Africa, at least we needn’t worry about africanizing the local bees. They already are.
That depends... Do elephants like Honey Nut Cheerios?
I’d really hate having to chase off an elephabee.
or a graklephant.
Send Hollywood people. They’ll go over there, build a ton of massive sized houses, and shoot the elephants if they interfere.
Just how big *are* these [bleep]ing bees?
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