The Save The Elephants Foundation (STE) sees these magnificent creatures as Africa’s gardeners and landscape engineers who plant seeds and create habitats wherever they roam. Africa’s human population is set to double by 2050 and this puts enormous pressures on Africa’s elephants. As farmlands spread and infrastructure such as roads and fences fragment wilderness habitat further, elephants are being forced into increasing conflict with people.
STE conducts vital research on elephant behaviour and ecology and has pioneered a GPS radio tracking system that provides critical insights into the life of elephants. We have worked closely with Dr Lucy King, the head of the Human Elephant Co-existence Program, whose design of a ground-breaking beehive fence has reduced the conflict by a staggering 80% in the communities in which she works.
Best described as a boundary of poles with beehives on them that are interlinked via wire, the fence capitalizes on elephants natural aversion to bees to offering effective protection of community crops, a pollination service for the farmers and the creation of revenue via the elephant-friendly honey that is produced as a by-product. As a direct result of a recent trip on which Dr King was a ROAR AFRICA speaker, Dr King’s story so moved one of our guests that she was awarded an enormous grant from a U.S.A foundation as well as the opportunity to educate the world on the importance of elephant conservation by becoming a speaker at TEDWomen last year. We couldn’t be prouder.
