Updated October 14, 2022 at 8:44 AM ET
This is Part 2 of the TED Radio Hour episode Finding Another Way. Check out Part 1 and Part 3.
In some rural African communities, elephants and humans are competing for space and resources like never before. Zoologist Lucy King shares her solution to the conflict: a simple beehive on a fence.
About Lucy King
Lucy King is a zoologist and head of the Human-Elephant Co-Existence Program for Save the Elephants, a research and conservation organization working in East, Central, and Southern Africa.
King has researched the use of honey bees as a natural deterrent for crop-raiding elephants since 2006 and has published her findings in numerous scientific journals. Based on traditional knowledge, her eco-friendly method of building beehive fences around farm boundaries is now used in 19 countries in Africa and Asia. The bee fences boost crop pollination and honey production—as well as allow rural farmers and wild elephants to coexist.
King holds a PhD in Animal Behavior and a MSc in Biology and Integrative Bioscience, both from the University of Oxford. She also holds a BSc in Zoology from the University of Bristol.
This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Rachel Faulkner and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.
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